Fusilli Pasta with Zucchini Pesto
Votes: 1
Time: 20 min.
Complexity: easily
Servings: 4 - 6
Complexity: easily
Servings: 4 - 6
To make this vegetarian dish, cooked pasta is tossed with sautéed zucchini and pesto sauce, which deviates from the traditional recipe by using zucchini instead of basil and almonds instead of pine nuts. The other pesto ingredients—olive oil and pecorino cheese—remain unchanged, resulting in a lighter, more summery sauce. Fusilli pasta's spiral shape holds the sauce well, so you can savor the flavor with every spoonful. And don't discard the pasta cooking water! It's needed to dilute the pesto so there's enough sauce for all the pasta.
The recipes use measuring containers with the following volumes:
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.
Ingredients for the recipe:
- 450 g fusilli pasta
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 3 small zucchinis (0.7 kg), coarsely chopped
- 0.5 cup grated Pecorino cheese + extra for serving
- 1/3 cup toasted sliced almonds, plus extra for serving
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
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Recipes with similar ingredients: fusilli spiral pasta, zucchini, zucchini, pesto sauce, Pecorino Romano cheese, almond
Cooking the dish according to the recipe:
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Set aside 1 cup of the pasta cooking water and discard the rest.
- Meanwhile, working in two batches, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini and cook, stirring, until golden brown, 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper to taste.
- In a food processor, puree half the zucchini along with the pecorino cheese, almonds, and garlic until a smooth paste forms. With the processor running, gradually pour in the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil and process until the pesto is smooth.
- In a large bowl, combine the pasta with the pesto, 1/2 cup of the cooking water, and the remaining zucchini, adding more water if needed; season with salt and pepper to taste. Top each serving with toasted almonds and pecorino cheese.
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