You need to cook with zucchini right now. Before September ends it is imperative that you incorporate as much zucchini as possible into your diet as you can. Hey, we don’t make the rules!
To that end, now would be a good time to hop on the bandwagon that is Stanley Tucci’s famed recipe for zucchini pasta. Which, to be fair, is not his recipe but that of the entire Amalfi Coast. Straight from the CNN website, and credited to one Chef Tommaso de Simone of Lo Scoglio, this pasta, in the words of CNN “celebrates the fabulous flavors of the Amalfi Coast. This recipe for spaghetti served with sweet zucchini, savory parmesan and aromatic basil is the perfect example of quality ingredients carefully combined with love and attention. For extra decadence stir through a spoonful of butter before serving.”
Thank you for the hot tip, we will always add more butter before serving. Just try and stop us.
pasta by FoodieCrush
To prep for your deep dive into zucchini spaghetti you may also want to check out this piece in the New Yorker, where writer Daniel Ford reveals the technique he witnessed at the famed Lo Scoglio; “Only family members are allowed to make the pasta: one person tosses the spaghetti and zucchini while another sprinkles in the cheese mixture, and then waiters distribute the final product onto individual plates. Speed is essential.”
Without further ado, from the first delicious season of Searching For Italy, here is:
The Zucchini Pasta Everyone Is Talking About
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
Sunflower oil for frying
6 medium zucchini
Salt
14 ounces | 400 grams spaghetti
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (preferably aged 2 years)
1 bunch fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Heat a generous amount of sunflower oil in a large saucepan.
- Slice the zucchini into thin rounds and then fry in the hot oil until they begin to turn golden. Drain the zucchini with a slotted spoon, place in a bowl and leave in the fridge to rest and soften for at least 2 hours.
- When you are ready to prepare the dish, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve some of the cooking water for the next step.
- Heat the rested zucchini in a large frying pan along with 2 ladles of the spaghetti cooking water and season with a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper if desired.
- Drain the spaghetti and add to the pan with the zucchini. Remove the pan from the heat, add a couple of handfuls of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and toss everything together well. Don’t forget to toss in a knob of butter and swirl it around!
- Divide into 4 portions, sprinkle each bowl with more Parmigiano-Reggiano and top with a few fresh basil leaves before serving.