Think of this zucchini pasta dish as your entrance to the Italian summerseason in your mind’s eye. The fruit (yes, zucchini is a fruit) changes into a stack of soft shreds with the aid of a box grater. Cook it down with olive oil, onion, and garlic and it endsupbeing a velvety, caramelized paste that’s excellent to spread on toast (like Jennie Cook’s Zucchini Butter, which influenced this dish) or stir into rushed eggs. But include a little pasta water, lemon juice, parm, and a glug or 2 of heavy cream and allofasudden that paste changes into a rich pasta sauce, best for slicking any long noodle you like.
You’ll be impressed by how lotsof zucchini cook down into this one pasta meal—a extremely great thing when you’re looking down a stack of it in August. To guarantee the zucchini establishes color rather of turning mushy, it’s important you capture the excess liquid out of it veryfirst: Just wrap the shredded zukes in a tidy cookingarea towel and capture with all your might. You can disposeof the liquid—or include it to your pasta pot.
Fresh basil leaves and mint included at the end hammer home the summerseason ambiance of this weeknight supper. If you’re desperate for some crunch, a garnish of toasted panko breadcrumbs mostlikely wouldn’t hurt. Or, if you’re yearning color, a handful of cutinhalf cherry tomatoes would enhance the meal wonderfully.
Looking for more methods to usage up zucchini? Try it in pasta with walnuts and pecorino, crispy grilled flatbread with ricotta, pancakes made with rice, and gluten-free zucchini noodles or zoodles made with a spiralizer in our collection of zucchini dishes.
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Ingredients
4 Servings
2
lb. zucchini or summerseason squash (4–6 medium zucchini)
1
large shallot or ½ little onion
4
large garlic cloves
3
Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
¼
tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2
tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
12
oz. spaghetti, linguine, bucatini, or other long pasta
1
lemon
½
oz. Parmesan, plus more for serving
½
cup (lightly jam-packed) basil or mint leaves (or a mix!)
½
cup heavy cream
Preparation
-
Step 1
Bring a big pot of water to a boil and salt greatly.
Step 2
Meanwhile, location a tidy cookingarea towel in a big bowl (or on a big cutting board). Trim 2 pound. zucchini or summertime squash (4–6), then grate on the