Recipe: Zucchini Pasta

Recipe grade: ★★★★

The recipe in three words: tasty, salty, veggie-based

Cooking Partner: My mom

What I liked about this recipe: The pasta was perfect! I love the texture of the sauce. It was very colorful.

What I would change about this recipe: Next time I would prefer to use fresh basil. Also it was too salty because there was too much salt in the boiling water.

My recommendation: I recommend others try this recipe as a goal to try something new!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of rigatoni or paccheri pasta
• 4 large zucchinis, diced
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• kosher salt (to taste)
• black pepper (to taste)
• crushed red pepper (to taste)
• garlic (to taste)
• dried basil (to taste)
• 1 large yellow onion
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 lemon, juice and zest
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
2. Cook the pasta and save 2 1/2 cups of pasta water for later.
3. Mix half of the zucchini with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the zucchini is brown and crisp.
4. In a large pan on medium-high heat, mix 1/4 cup olive oil, zucchini, garlic, onion, crushed red pepper, dried basil, salt, and pepper. Cover with a lid and stir occasionally until the zucchini is a little soft and brown. Take off the lid and add the chicken stock. Cook for about 5 minutes.
5. Put the cooked zucchini mix in the blender and add 1/2 cup of the the saved pasta water. Once blended, pour back in the pan and add the cooked pasta. Toss to coat. Add saved pasta water as needed to thicken the sauce.
6. Divide into serving bowls. Add the roasted zucchini and parmesan on top.
7. Enjoy!

Recipe inspired by The Today Show