I had other plans for this week’s column, but they all got sort of hijacked by the reality that we all have a lot of zucchinis at this time of the year.
Abundant and usually free (as are very few things in life), zucchinis manage to be cheap even if you have to buy them. My wife laughs at me when I refer to a food as being “democratic” but zucchinis are a truly democratic food — a food for the people.
And while they are sometimes regarded with shyness as a less-glamorous option in food-gifting currency, their abundance is conducive, almost forceful in its need to be shared. For this reason alone they deserve our recognition.
The recipe goes as follows:
Soften up two or three crushed garlic cloves in abundant olive oil, alongside a generous pinch of chillies and several fat basil leaves. (How many dishes start this way? More than I can count!)
Sometimes I like to tilt the pan to pool the oil all on one side and completely submerge the cloves of garlic. I just sit there, holding the pan, listening to the garlic gently sizzling away and I think of Nonna Gabriella. She is the one that showed me this trick and it’s a good one, since flavouring the oil is what you are trying to accomplish.
Shred five or six handfuls of zucchini. Add them to the pan and cook them down on medium heat for several minutes.
Salt them, give them a crack of black pepper and a generous handful of mint. Don’t be shy with the mint. There is no wrong way — the heat will soften its flavour and make everything bright.
The mixture will lose a bunch of water. Allow the water to evaporate on the heat.
Meanwhile, do two things at once: 1) Work the mixture all down to a pesto-like texture with the tip of your wooden spoon and 2) Put water on to boil the pasta (Use a short one for this recipe, like farfalle).
Building the sauce should take about 20 minutes, so consider cooking your pasta at the same time to minimize your time in the kitchen.
Don’t forget to save a couple of ladles of cooking water from the pasta. Add them to your sauce for a few minutes of necessary acquaintances before adding the pasta to the sauce as well.
Kill the heat and allow the sauce to steam off before a final taste.
Salt is important, especially with so few ingredients. You can’t skip out on it; taste it till you find that sweet spot.
I like to finish this pasta with a spoonful of chèvre (the soft stuff) and a few more mint leaves for good measure.
Eat it with some spotted prawns and a glass of white wine for bonus points.
Stay tuned for more rumbling on democratic foods: next up is pizza!