Courgette & Pecorino Linguine
with Pistachio Pesto
Probably my favourite way to eat pasta. Courgette is cooked down with butter and garlic for ages, until it turns into a mushy delight! Pasta water and pecorino cheese are stirred through at the end to emulsify it all and thin it out to help it cling to the linguine. You could serve it with fresh or dried pasta here. It’s also delicious without the pesto or just go and buy a good quality pesto for an even quicker dins! BUT the pistachio pesto does add a depth of flavour that really does make the dish! Pecorino is a salty sheep milk cheese. If its hard to find sub for Parmesan cheese.
Ingredients
(Serves 4)
Pasta
1 quantity of fresh egg yolk pasta dough made into linguine -recipe here
or 400g dried linguine pasta
Sauce
5 medium courgette, cut in half lengthways and thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
50g or 4ish Tbsp butter
A good drizzle of olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 cup Finely grated Pecorino cheese
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Pasta water to finish
To Serve
1 courgette, thinly sliced into rounds
4 Tbsp pistachio pesto - recipe here (or a good quality store brought pesto)
1/2 cup picked basil leaves
Prep It
Bring a large pot of very salty water to the boil. Have your pasta at the ready for cooking later.
Cut 5 courgette in half lengthways and thinly slice. Roughly chop 6 cloves of garlic and set aside.
Thinly slice 6th courgette into rounds and pick basil. Set both aside for later.
Cook It
Heat butter and a drizzle of olive oil in a large pot or fry-pan with a lid and when melted add courgette (not the rounds), garlic and 1 tsp salt. Stir, cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes on medium-high heat.
After 5 minutes remove lid and continue to cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and kind of mashing at the same time with your wooden spoon, until the courgette is very soft.
After 10 minutes add 1/2 cup of the water you have ready for your pasta. Stir well and cook for a further 5 minutes stirring often, until almost puree like. Turn off heat and cover with a lid while you cook your pasta.
While the sauce is cooking, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a small pan on high heat. Add slices of courgette and a pinch of salt and cook for about 3 minutes, until tender and golden brown. Set aside for serving.
Cook your fresh pasta for about 3 minutes (or dried as per packet instructions) until almost al dente.
When pasta has about 1 minute cook time left, remove lid from sauce and carefully add a second half cup of pasta water to the sauce along with pecorino cheese and lemon juice. Mix well.
When your pasta is cooked carefully use tongs to transfer the pasta from the pot straight to the sauce. Toss through the sauce and add a little more pasta water and a sprinkle of salt if needed.
Serve It
Serve pasta in bowls and top with pistachio pesto, fried courgette and basil. You could add more cheese and a drizzle of olive oil too. Why not, treat yo self!