Zucchini pasta is a very popular idea to reduce the amount of carbohydrates, in addition to being able to enjoy a larger portion and with considerably fewer calories.
Ingredients for 2 people:
4-5 zucchini
For the tomato sauce:
About 250 gr of ripe tomato or passata
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
Spices to taste (paprika, oregano or basil, etc.)
Grated cheese to taste (Parmigiano, Grana Padano, Pecorino, etc.)
Salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil
How to make the tomato sauce:
Heat some extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan without letting it smoke. Chop and fry the onion and garlic over moderate heat. Submerge the tomatoes for a minute in boiling water, this will allow to peel them easily. Remove the seeds if desired. Chop the tomato flesh and add to the sauce. At this point, it is possible to add a spoonful of concentrated tomato paste. Season to taste (for a tomato sauce I like to add a little smoked paprika, oregano, a little cayenne and salt). Continue cooking over very low heat for at least 10 minutes to allow liquid to evaporate and achieve a thick consistency.
You can also consult our post to learn more secrets about how to prepare a sofrito that improves all your recipes.
How to prepare zucchini (or courgette) pasta:
Wash the zucchini and cut off the ends. It’s not necessary to peel them, that’s only a detail that affects the final presentation, since without the peel the “pasta” will not be green.
There are several possible methods for cutting the zucchini into a pasta form. The easiest way is to use a spiral vegetable cutter or “spiralizer”, which is a very cheap and simple gadget. The result will be long, thin strips in the shape of spaghetti. Otherwise, simply use a mandolin for vegetables or even a conventional peeler. In this case, the slices will be a little wider, more like tagliatelle or pappardelle. In any case, we will have the “pasta” ready in a few minutes.
Some salt at this point will help to release a little moisture from the vegetables, but it’s also possible to salt the pasta while cooking it.
How to cook the pasta:
When the tomato sauce is ready, heat a little olive oil in a pan and sauté the pasta for a very short time (1 or 2 minutes will be enough). It is convenient to strain the pasta to get rid of the water that the vegetables have given off.
The finishing touch:
It only remains to serve with a little tomato sauce on top, add a little grated cheese and, in the case of the illustrative photo, some basil leaves.