Ingredients
Courgettes (and courgette flowers if you have them)
Garlic
Onion or shallots
Olive oil
Basil (very important!)
Parmesan
Spaghetti
Salt and pepper
Lemon
Instructions
Cut courgettes into roundels.
Crush the garlic.
Cut shallot(s) into semicircular slices.
Crush garlic
Take large heavy-based pan and put lots of oil in it - for four people probably about 1/2 glass of oil.
Pul the garlic and shallots and courgettes all in together (in the cold oil), and add a finger of water, and salt.
Cover with a lid and cook on a medium heat.
Once the courgettes are halfway done (just a few minutes, until they start getting soft), take the lid of and let the water evaporate. The courgettes will start to fry lightly - but make sure they don’t burn!
When they are done, take off the heat.
Boil water for the pasta and add salt. This recipe works well with pasta that is quite starchy, so you could use slightly less water than usual.
Cook the spaghetti. Halfway through cooking, take the spaghetti out of the water (best to use metal pincers if you have them - but if you need to drain them in a colander, just save a big cup of water for later). Put the spaghetti in the pan with the courgettes, garlic and onlon.
Add some of the saved cooking water, and mix in the pan. (This technique uses the starch from the boiling water to emulsify the oil, which creates creamy texture - without adding cream).
Tear up a handful of basil leaves, and add to the pan. (Turn off the heat at this point).
Add some lemon zest and pepper to taste. You can also add a few drops of lemon juice to the pan.
Up to this point, the recipe is suitable for vegans.
If you’re not vegan, add some parmesan and stir into the pasta.
Serve and enjoy.
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