It’s zucchini season again. And even though rain meant a slow start for our dozen plants (I will never learn to plant less!) they have caught up awful quick. In the space of the two weeks I left them on their own they went from puny stubs barely making it up from the muddy ground, to a leafy jungle full of already over sized squash.
Just like the weird weather this year that went directly from winter to summer, my zucchini plants have missed that ‘tween period when I would carefully harvest tiny, baby zucchini.
So, what to do with the groaning basket? Give some away to friends who help plant of course. And pasta. There is always pasta.
Actually, the slightly bigger than desirable zucchini are perfect for pasta sauces. Since they tend to break down pretty quickly, the juicy flesh pairs perfectly with noodles. Last weekend I cubed, then quickly sauteed a few, with an onion while the pasta cooked. I then tossed it all together with a cup of ricotta and a handful of wild mint.
There are lots of variations on this dish. Switch in basil for mint, garlic for onions. The options are endless. And so is my supply of zucchini.
pasta with zucchini, ricotta and mint
1 pound / 500 grams of penne
4 medium sized zucchini (about 5 cups chopped)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cup ricotta
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tsp salt (plus more for water)
1/2 cup chopped mint (I used wild mint, but regular will do)
black pepper
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
Cut zucchini into small cubes, about a half inch.
Add olive oil to a frying pan and heat over medium flame. Add onion and salt and let the onion wilt, for about 5 minutes. Add the zucchini, and cook until just tender. (It will go from tender to mush very quickly. If you miss the point, that’s ok. It will still taste good)
Put pasta to cook in water while zucchini is cooking. When done, drain pasta, reserving a cup of pasta cooking water.
Place ricotta is a large serving bowl. Add about a 1/3 cup of the pasta water to the ricotta, and mix it to loosen it up. Add the chopped mint, and a good grinding of black pepper. Stir, and add the pasta and zucchini mixture. Stir well, adding more of the pasta water if it seems dry.
You can serve with grated parmigiano if you’d like, but I didn’t.
The scalloped bowl with the green border is from Sberna, in Deruta.
Going to have to try this~looks like summer in a bowl!
Love mint! Love ricotta! Sounds delish!
Yumm!! How many zucchini did you use with that amount of pasta? I think I will make this as a cold pasta salad this weekend!
Oops! So sorry I left the zucchini out of the recipe originally. Thanks for mentioning it. I’ve fixed it now: 4 medium zucchini.
Good Karma to you for giving me another idea of what to do with courgetttes!!! Here in France it is practically the only veggie we have that isn’t from a hothouse in Spain after the weather we have had. So merci!
Was looking through the cookbook Jerusalem yesterday, and was so shocked that there were no zucchini recipes. That’s when I remembered to look up ‘courgette’!
I love pasta with ricotta but I have not tried it with zucchini. I will have to give this a try. I like also like pasta and ricotta with peas and mint or toasted pine nuts and asparagus. I like to add some grated Locatelli. Truth be told, I like virtually everything topped with grated Locatelli.
Best…Victoria
Ricotta makes everything better. But what is Locatelli?
Locatelli is a brand name and the company makes Pecorino Romano that is sold in the US.
Hi Elizabeth! I too have planted some zucchini. We also went from cool & wet here in Vancouver, Canada to “SUMMER” in a day. They have taken off like crazy. Luckily they are at different stages! Can hardly wait to start making frittata’s, pasta, grilled zucchini sott’olio! You should see my cherry tomatoes!
We are still at least 3 weeks away from cherry tomatoes. But hoping for a bumper crop there too.
Elizabeth, this looks amazing! Do you guys have squash vine borers in Italy? They killed off all four of our zucchini plants. So sad. Yours look great though!
No, nothing seems to kill off our zucchini plants. Ever.
Elizabeth!
I will try domain!Millie Grazie!
Wow, these grew so fast!
Another easy recipe to try with the next big batch: Zucchini Basil Soup {sauté with garlic & shallots, simmer with water and purée with fresh basil} – it’s so creamy, everyone always think it’s dairy based …
How much ricotta did you use? It’s not listed in the recipe.
Sorry! Updated to include the ricotta. I must have been very distracted / busy when writing this one up!
Our green market is tomorrow. I am going to definitely buy the zucchini and mint to make this dish feel like The taste will be closest to la tua ricetta.
Grazie.