Get creative with your zucchini to make pasta with pureed zucchini sauce. It features onions, fresh basil, and cheese, and comes together in 30 minutes or less.
¼cupgrated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino-Romano cheese
Instructions
Heat the olive oil to a large saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute for about 5 minutes until softened but not completely translucent.
Add the zucchini, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 to 20 minutes more until the zucchini is very tender but not mushy.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Generously salt the water and add the pasta. Cook until al dente, reserve ½ cup of pasta cooking water and then drain the pasta.
Add the zucchini and onion mixture to a blender or food processor and add the ½ cup reserved pasta water, fresh basil, and cheese. Puree until smooth and adjust seasoning as needed. You should have about 3 ½ cups sauce.
Mix about 3 cups of the zucchini sauce with the cooked pasta until well-coated, adding more sauce as needed.
Notes
You may have some leftover sauce, but it can come in handy if you need to reheat any of the pasta later (and re-moisten it with more sauce). The leftover ½ cup or so of zucchini sauce is excellent tossed with about 8 to 10 ounces of fresh ravioli! Alternatively, you could water down leftover sauce with some broth for a serving of pureed zucchini soup.
You can really use nearly any dry aged cheese in this recipe, but I like using grated Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano. You could also try Asiago or Grana Padano and see what you think! If you're vegetarian, make sure to use a vegetarian version of these cheeses.
I had originally made this recipe with farfalle (bow-tie/butterfly) pasta but use campanelle (little bell) pasta for the updated photos in the post. This pureed zucchini sauce would be wonderful with nearly any pasta shape, but those with nooks and crannies, holes for catching sauce, or ridges would be ideal. I also think it would work really well with fettuccine or pappardelle.