Hey fam, I have this gorgeous and delicate pasta sauce that anyone can make because it is so easy !! If you don’t like zucchini then basically ignore this post because zucchini is the main ingredient and main flavour.
So this recipe is actually from my Uncle in Italy. Technically he is like my third cousin but you know how it is with us ethnics lol everyone older is referred to as an Uncle or Aunty.
So my Zio Antonio from my Nonna’s side of the family lives in the beautiful west coast of Italy. I visited back in 2011 when I did my Europe trip. When my Nonna was alive before she got really sick she would ring her relatives in Italy every week. I don’t have much family here in Australia so she kept in contact with them. On my Italian side, it is basically just my mum and her two brothers here in Australia now. Literally ALL our extended family live in Italy or America. Maybe that’s why when I visit Italy it feels like home. I have been blessed to visit twice and I hope I can go back with my family one day.
Moving along, my Zio and his daughter came to stay with my Nonna before she passed and he made her this pasta and I loved it so I wanted to share it with all my pasta lovers.
Here are some tips
I served the sauce with Fettucine as I think this would go best but you can use Spaghetti or Linguine.
Every time I eat gluten I get a confirmation that I shouldn’t be eating gluten but here I am.. still not ready to give up pasta lmao In saying that, lately my hubby has been wanting to increase his protein so I have been swopping gluten based pasta for the pasta made from pulses as it is very high in protein and I actually like it. I think it would slightly change the flavour of this dish but if you’re gluten intolerant then you don’t let it hold you back from making this
Ideally I think the longer you cook this dish the better it would be but you can do a semi quick version and the smaller you cut the zucchini then the quicker it will be to cook.
Here is what you need :
4 tablespoons Olive oil
Salt + Pepper
4 garlic cloves
500g Pasta of choice
10 zucchini
Good handful of fresh Basil
Chilli oil and Parmesan (optional)
3 tablespoons of nutrional yeast flakes (options)
This is what you need :
Wash your zucchini’s and cut off the end. Cut into 1 - 2cm cm circles. Ideally cut them all the same size so they cook evenly.
Finely dice 3 garlic cloves.
Add some good quality Olive oil to a medium size saucepan. Once hot, add the zucchini then the finely diced garlic ,basil leaves & nutrional yeast. Season with salt and pepper .
Put on low to medium heat with the lid on and let it cook for as long as it needs ( approx 1 hour). Give it a mix every 10 min or so. The desired outcome is for the zucchinis to break down and become creamy in consistency.
Cook your pasta according to the instructions and when the pasta is cooking add a few spoonfull’s of the pasta water to the zucchini sauce.
Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and add it to zucchini sauce and give it a good mix.
Plate it up and add chilli oil and parmesan if you fancy.
I hope you love this delicate and light sauce from Italy. Let me know if you try it !!!
Lots of love xoxo