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5 from 6 votes

Pasta with Melted Zucchini Sauce

Servings: 4 -6 AS A FIRST COURSE
Author: Pamela

Ingredients

  • Kosher salt for the pasta water
  • ¼ cup unrefined cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large shallot or ½ small onion finely diced or pulsed in a food processor
  • 4 large garlic cloves finely chopped
  • Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 pounds zucchini or summer squash 4–6 medium, ends trimmed and grated (do not peel or squeeze excess moisture)
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt + more to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 12 ounce short pasta like rigatoni conchiglie, casarecce
  • Zest and juice of 1 small lemon or half a large lemon
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan plus more for serving
  • ⅓ cup fresh basil or mint leaves
  • 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter or plant butter or mascarpone or almond milk cream cheese

Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a palmful of salt.
  • Warm the oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add zucchini, salt and pepper and raise the heat to medium-high. If you’re using a cast iron pan, you can go up to high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the moisture has been released from the zucchini and has evaporated. Cover, lower heat to low, and continue to cook until the zucchini is incredibly soft, about 15 minutes. You can do this ahead and let it sit off the heat until you’re ready to proceed with the rest of the recipe.
  • While the zucchini is cooking, add the pasta to the pot of boiling water and cook until al dente. Remove 2 cups of pasta cooking water before draining pasta and set aside.
  • Drain the pasta and transfer to the skillet with the zucchini. Add the lemon juice, zest, grated cheese, basil, butter or cream cheese, and ½ cup pasta water. Stir well to combine. Add more pasta water as needed. Serve with additional grated cheese on the side.

Notes

Great with seafood added
• You can stir in baby spinach leaves in Step 4, if desired.
• Vegan: swap nutritional yeast to taste for the Parmesan or vegan Parmesan.
• Feta or goat cheese can be a nice swap instead of the Parmesan.
• Anchovies add a delicious salty, umami flavor. Add with garlic in Step 2.
How to perfectly cook gluten-free pasta:
1. Boil plenty of water.
2. Add 1 Tablespoon of kosher salt. (This is to flavor the pasta. No need to waste expensive sea salt here.)
3. Add pasta and stir often. (This is so that the pasta doesn’t stick to each other.) You do not need to add oil to any pasta, gluten-free or otherwise.
4. When you add the pasta, set your timer for the least amount of time that the package directions indicate. For example, with Trader Joe’s Brown Rice and Quinoa spaghetti, it says to cook for 7-10 minutes. I set my timer for 7 minutes.
5. Lower the heat so that the water simmers and is not at a raging boil. This is important. Rapid boiling is what causes the pasta to lose its shape.
6. MOST IMPORTANT STEP: When the timer goes off, turn off the heat and let the pasta remain in the hot water. Taste the pasta. It should still be a little hard. Scoop out a little pasta water and reserve.
7. Allow the pasta to sit in the hot water with the heat off until you have your desired tenderness, which means you may need to test it every 30 seconds.
8. Drain and immediately toss with your sauce, pesto or whatever. DO NOT RINSE PASTA, unless you want to use it in a cold dish. The starches on the outside of the pasta will help sauces, etc. stick. Use the reserved pasta water to add extra moisture to the pasta as needed. Keep in mind, gluten-free pasta does not sit as well as regular pasta, so try to serve immediately or at the least, keep that reserved pasta water on hand in case.