‘Springtime Special’ zucchini pastaSTEPS 6 INGREDIENTS 6 TIME 30-35 MINS
These ingredients are really seasonal finds… so a trip to your local farmers’ market will probably be in order (what a great excuse!). What’s interesting here is that unlike the typical Italian way of preparing the zucchini flowers - which is to stuff them, coat them in batter and deep-fry them (like the British do their fish or the Scottish their Mars bars) - there’s no deep frying here. The flowers are simply fried up alongside the onion slices, creating creates a molten, almost impossible-to-see kind of ‘sauce’ that's more a light flavoring than a seriously chunky sauce. This ‘spaghetti primavera’ is a real lunchtime favorite of ours. I hope you enjoy it. Serves 4 Ingredients: 40 zucchini flowers (approx. 400g/14oz) 400g/14oz spaghetti (‘tricolore’ looks great!)
Extra virgin olive oil (buy it here) Salt Small glug of white wine Optional: chili pepper (thinly sliced) Optional: parmesan/pecorino cheese STEP 1 - First we prepare the veggies: - Remove the stalks from the flowers (trash these) and the small green spikey leaves.
- Tear the open flowers into rough chunks. - Grab the onions, slice off the stalks and roots. - Half the remaining bulbs longways and slice longways as thinly as possible. STEP 2 - Throw the onion slices into a frying pan and add a glug of water (this makes onions more digestible). - Fry on medium heat until the water evaporates then add 15 tablespoons of olive oil and cover. - Fry until onion softens nicely (approx. 2-4 minutes.
- Add 1 throw of salt and leave covered for 3 or 4 mins (steaming the onion), until onion becomes see-through. STEP 4 - Pop pan back on heat, add zucchini flowers, optional chili and half a shot glass of wine. Stir well to coat everything in oil. - Fry for 8-10 mins until beginning of zucchini stems go completely soft. Take off heat. STEP 5 - Cook pasta in large pan of boiling salted water as per packet’s timings. Do not drain! STEP 6 - When pasta is ready, don’t drain but spoon instead into frying pan and mix thoroughly. To serve: garnish this springtime zucchini pasta with grated parmesan cheese or, even better, pecorino.
Enjoyed this zucchini pasta? Then try… • This Sicilian treat, which features molten zucchini • This mixed-veg vegetable pasta salad New! CommentsHave your say about this page! Just add a comment in the box below. |
4 fresh spring onions
- Open each flour and also remove the small central orange heart (see right).
STEP 3 - With onion soft, keep pan covered and remove from heat. 
