I was recently in England visiting family where my sister-in-law subscribes to a weekly veg box. I used to subscribe to one in Canada, but have been travelling a bit too much the past few years to make good use of one. The great thing about these boxes is that you don't know what you are going to get so it forces you to try new things. Also, it's like meal planning in reverse where instead of making your grocery list based for the meals you want, you make a menu list to accommodate what's arrived in the veg box.
And that's where this recipe came from. The veg box had several courgettes (aka zucchini) in it, and also came with a rough recipe (e.g. no measurements) which my sister-and-law and I decided to pursue. I've listed them below with my estimation of amounts and process.
Before we get to the recipe, I have a couple of other notable mentions. First off, I have to mention that I bought the sprial pasta that we used in this recipe at the most amazing Burough Market in London. I'm a huge fan of markets, but this one is pretty much at the top of my list. It has the most amazing vendors and selction, and the atmosphere is brilliant. If you do get to go there, be sure to try the grilled cheese sandwich at the raclette stand.
My other mention is the AGA. I used this in the title, but it's a bit of a misnomer as really all you use the AGA for is boiling the pasta. I had to mention it though as they are such an English tradition which I haven't seen much of in North America. It's an oven that is always on and ready to do duty. As a result, they throw a bit of heat and have traditionally been used to hang laundry over for drying.
Well there it is. Courgette pasta is a perfect summer dish as its easy preparation, high on flavours, and no cooking beyond boiling water for pasta. In fact, even my wee nephews who aren't keen on zucchini thought that this would be edible!
Courgette Pasta
1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red chile, finely diced
3 small-medium zucchini, grated
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
fresh basil, chopped
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Spiral pasta for 4
Get a pot ready with water for boiling your pasta. Meanwhile, mix the lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic and chile in a small bowl. Set aside.
When your pasta is ready and drained, toss with the lemon mixture, zucchini, olive oil and salt and pepper. Serve with parmesan and basil.
