It has taken me all my life to figure that I want to spend the rest of the foreseable future learning to create new things in the kitchen. Its not just that I love food, I think about it all the time. I wake up thinking of breakfast and the crepe I could make, or the scones I could bake, or the croissants I could whip up. I think of how I am going to present them on the plate. I think of which plate.
I am ashamed to say that not long after breakfast, I think of lunch. I go to the market for inspiration and find potbellied zucchine, vibrant sunshine yellow and lush green striped with hints of lime. I pick up a bunch of fresh flat leaf parsely and jewel-like shallots and rush home to commence the symphony of flavours.
With a home to run, a toddler around my ankles and things to do, its not surprising that I am partial to simple dishes made of a few ingredients, mostly available at home or easy to get a hold of. Simple dished with huge flavours are my friend.
Its the produce in the market that speaks to me and in my minds eye, I can almost see and taste the dish before I have made it.
If you want to make this dish, but can't find the round squash like zucchine, the traditional long ones will do just fine.
The zucchine* do not need to be blanched. I like to just wilt the slivers of delicate flesh on a medium heat to maintain the colour and the crunch.
The garlic and dried peperoncino need to go into cold olive oil because you want it to gently flavour the oil, not burn to crisp. You can use fresh red peperoncini too, but bare in mind that their heat is more fierce.
I like to use spaghetti or tagliatelle, but even rigatoni or penne will work nicely. Recently I used a mix of spinach and plain tagliatelle to lend some fun and colour to this dish.
Remember to check the cooking times of spinach/plain tagliatelle, because they normally differ by a couple of minutes, and I stagger the cooking time to get the same texture in both.
Use only the finest extra virgin olive oil as this will gently coat all the lovely strands of pasta and will be the carrier of all the ingredients.
Remember to not throw away the pasta water. You will need it.
A good parmiggiano reggiano, or pecorino if you prefer, are essential to complement this dish. Use generously.
*Note that I use theItalian word 'Zucchine' (not Zucchini), which is the plural of the feminine Zucchina. However, even Italians debate this here.
Tagliatelle alle Zucchine Bicolore
Ingredients
(for 4 persons)
- 4-5 potbellied zucchine (2 green, 2 yellow), sliced into 1cm slivers
- 4-5 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
- 4-5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 3-4 tablespoons Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped semi-finely
- 8-10 large fresh basil leaves, prepared chiffonade style, (a chiffonade looks prettier but torn up is fine too)
- 2-3 dried peperoncini, broken into two to release flavour (optional)
- 3 tablespoons of raw pine nuts
- a half cup of dry white wine (optional)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- more olive oil for drizzling, depending on need/preference
- coarse sea salt for the pasta water
- grated parmiggiano reggiano to taste
Method
- Add a handful of coarse salt to a large pot of water and bring to the boil
- Throw in the tagliatelle (if using two colours make sure you calculate cooking times)
- Add the olive oil to a deep pan frying pan or skillet, on low-medium heat
- Add the sliced garlic and peperoncino and allow to infuse into the oil without sizzling or browning
- Saute gently until the garlic is JUST turning pink
- Add the zucchine and stir gently till they wilt and have absorbed most of the oil
- Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Deglaze the pan by splashing in the white wine and turning up the heat, toss the zucchini till most of the wine has evaporated
- Reducing the heat on medium and add the pine nuts to the zucchine and mix through gently
- In the meantime, check the tagliatelle, which should be very nearly ready.
- Drain the pasta just shy of it being 'al dente' (reserving the water) and before all the water has drained out completely, throw the tagliatelle into the sauce, tossing quickly to coat and infuse the flavours into the tagliatelle
- You may want to add a ladle of pasta water to loosen the sauce
- Keep tossing as you add the basil chiffonade and parsley (reserving a little of both for garnish)
- Add a splash of olive for flavour and gloss
- Garnish with a couple of tablespoons of parmiggiano, a couple of turns of the pepper mill and the rest of the parsley and basil chiffonade
Buon Appetito!
I am ashamed to say that not long after breakfast, I think of lunch. I go to the market for inspiration and find potbellied zucchine, vibrant sunshine yellow and lush green striped with hints of lime. I pick up a bunch of fresh flat leaf parsely and jewel-like shallots and rush home to commence the symphony of flavours.
With a home to run, a toddler around my ankles and things to do, its not surprising that I am partial to simple dishes made of a few ingredients, mostly available at home or easy to get a hold of. Simple dished with huge flavours are my friend.
Its the produce in the market that speaks to me and in my minds eye, I can almost see and taste the dish before I have made it.
If you want to make this dish, but can't find the round squash like zucchine, the traditional long ones will do just fine.
The zucchine* do not need to be blanched. I like to just wilt the slivers of delicate flesh on a medium heat to maintain the colour and the crunch.
The garlic and dried peperoncino need to go into cold olive oil because you want it to gently flavour the oil, not burn to crisp. You can use fresh red peperoncini too, but bare in mind that their heat is more fierce.
I like to use spaghetti or tagliatelle, but even rigatoni or penne will work nicely. Recently I used a mix of spinach and plain tagliatelle to lend some fun and colour to this dish.
Remember to check the cooking times of spinach/plain tagliatelle, because they normally differ by a couple of minutes, and I stagger the cooking time to get the same texture in both.
Use only the finest extra virgin olive oil as this will gently coat all the lovely strands of pasta and will be the carrier of all the ingredients.
Remember to not throw away the pasta water. You will need it.
A good parmiggiano reggiano, or pecorino if you prefer, are essential to complement this dish. Use generously.
*Note that I use theItalian word 'Zucchine' (not Zucchini), which is the plural of the feminine Zucchina. However, even Italians debate this here.
Tagliatelle alle Zucchine Bicolore
Ingredients
(for 4 persons)
- 4-5 potbellied zucchine (2 green, 2 yellow), sliced into 1cm slivers
- 4-5 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
- 4-5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 3-4 tablespoons Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped semi-finely
- 8-10 large fresh basil leaves, prepared chiffonade style, (a chiffonade looks prettier but torn up is fine too)
- 2-3 dried peperoncini, broken into two to release flavour (optional)
- 3 tablespoons of raw pine nuts
- a half cup of dry white wine (optional)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- more olive oil for drizzling, depending on need/preference
- coarse sea salt for the pasta water
- grated parmiggiano reggiano to taste
Method
- Add a handful of coarse salt to a large pot of water and bring to the boil
- Throw in the tagliatelle (if using two colours make sure you calculate cooking times)
- Add the olive oil to a deep pan frying pan or skillet, on low-medium heat
- Add the sliced garlic and peperoncino and allow to infuse into the oil without sizzling or browning
- Saute gently until the garlic is JUST turning pink
- Add the zucchine and stir gently till they wilt and have absorbed most of the oil
- Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Deglaze the pan by splashing in the white wine and turning up the heat, toss the zucchini till most of the wine has evaporated
- Reducing the heat on medium and add the pine nuts to the zucchine and mix through gently
- In the meantime, check the tagliatelle, which should be very nearly ready.
- Drain the pasta just shy of it being 'al dente' (reserving the water) and before all the water has drained out completely, throw the tagliatelle into the sauce, tossing quickly to coat and infuse the flavours into the tagliatelle
- You may want to add a ladle of pasta water to loosen the sauce
- Keep tossing as you add the basil chiffonade and parsley (reserving a little of both for garnish)
- Add a splash of olive for flavour and gloss
- Garnish with a couple of tablespoons of parmiggiano, a couple of turns of the pepper mill and the rest of the parsley and basil chiffonade
Buon Appetito!
Yummy, I will def try it and let you know how it turns out......Reading this made my mouth water!!!!
ReplyDeleteWell done and good luck! It looks delicious. I will try your recipe as I am also very interested in food, yet from a slightly different angle.
ReplyDeleteCatalina