Pasta with Zucchini and Pistachio

This fifteen-minute pasta with zucchini recipe is super healthy and a comforting way to get vegetables and fibre into you via what is quite a luscious pasta sauce. The pistachio nuts and parmesan cheese bring a depth of flavour to this zucchini sauce and raise the protein content making this pasta with zucchini and pistachio a great standalone vegetarian dish.

I

love zucchini or courgettes as they are called in the UK and France. It took me quite a few years to find the perfect zucchini pasta recipe. I think I have finally cracked it with this pasta with smooth creamy zucchini and pistachio sauce. This is one of the easiest zucchini pastas you can make.

Pasta with Zucchini and Pistachio

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 300g/10oz pasta such as fettuccine

• 2 medium-sized zucchini (courgettes), cubed

• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and halved

• 100g/3.5 oz shelled pistachio nuts, and more to garnish

• 100g/3.5oz of parmesan cheese, grated

• A handful of fresh basil leaves

• 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

• Salt and Pepper

Method

• Cook the pasta in salted boiling water according to packet instructions

• Meanwhile gently fry the zucchini cubes and garlic halves in olive oil, cover, and let cook for 5-7 minutes.

• Place the pistachios in a food processer and blitz. I use a Vitamix for this. Remove the garlic halves from the pan and squash with the back of a spoon and sprinkle with salt.

• Add the zucchini cubes to the blitzed pistachio nuts along with the parmesan cheese, basil leaves, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the squashed garlic and a couple of tablespoons of the pasta cooking water. Blitz everything into a smooth sauce and season to taste. I tend to always add quite a generous pinch of salt at this stage.

• Drain the pasta leaving some cooking liquid aside. Toss the pasta in the sauce so that it is completely coated. Add more cooking water if you need to loosen up the sauce.

• Serve immediately, garnished with the remaining whole pistachios, basil leaves, and a grind of black pepper. Top with more parmesan if desired.