This dish is a variation on the Courgette Spaghetti dish featured in Stanley Tucci’s: Searching for Italy. I was so intrigued by the simplicity of the ingredients so I gave it a whirl. The original dish takes 24 hours to make, which isn’t realistic for most family cooks, and it had a huge amount of oil and butter so I’ve made a faster, lower fat version that keeps the heart of the dish in a family-friendly way. My courgette plants go bonkers in the summer and this recipe calls for 3 large courgettes so it’s a must-have for anyone with courgette plants.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 2 Adults and 2 Kids
3 large courgettes (or 4 small ones)
50ml olive oil
2 tsp sea salt
300ml pasta water (don’t use plain boiling water)
35g unsalted butter
45g grated parmesan
5g basil leaves
300g dried spaghetti
- Pre-heat the oven to 225°C (200°C Fan) with shelves evenly placed. Remove the tops of the courgettes then slice into 3mm discs. Tip the discs into a large bowl and drizzle over the olive oil then use your hands to toss the courgettes in the oil. Spread the discs onto baking sheets in a single layer then sprinkle over the sea salt. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes rotating the trays after 15 minutes (so that the discs at the back of the oven are now at the front).
- 3 minutes before the courgettes are done put spaghetti into boiling, salted water.
- Tip the roasted courgettes into a large pan with a tablespoon of olive oil and cook on a medium heat for 2 minutes then add 300ml of the pasta water and the juice of one lemon then stir. The courgettes and pasta water combine to make a sauce.
- Stir the butter into the sauce then the parmesan and chopped basil. Drain and add the cooked spaghetti to the sauce and toss to coat then serve.
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