On my latest trip to Puglia, courgettes were in season, and I was eating them nearly every day, cooked in different capacities. However, there was one particular dish that turned my head. At the time, I hadn’t realised what I was eating was courgette. I was experiencing it in a brand new form. The dish? A creamy courgette pasta. The sauce was so silky and creamy; I was sure it had cream or some dairy. So, I was surprised when finding out that it only consisted of courgette, tomato, onion and garlic. What gave the sauce its creaminess? A splash of pasta water. The Italian secret ingredient when it comes to cooking several pasta dishes. It helps emulsify a sauce. An essential tip: Never throw away all your pasta water. Always keep a little aside and add to your sauce to revive if starting to look a bit dry.
Anyway, I couldn’t wait to recreate this dish back in London and here is my version. I’ve given it a little twist by not blending all the ingredients. It’s recipes like this that highlight how it easy and simple you can eat healthy and super delicious. So next time you have a spare courgette knocking about in your kitchen, you’ll know what to do.
PrintCreamy Courgette pasta (4 people)
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 courgettes, sliced into discs
- 12 cherry tomatoes, halved.
- Olive oil
- 500g Spaghetti
Ingredients 
Softly fry garlic and onion in olive oil 
Add the courgette, followed by the tomatoes until vegetables softened 
Creamy courgette pasta
Creamy courgette pasta
- HEAT olive oil in a large frying pan. Then, SOFTLY FRY the garlic and onion. SPRINKLE salt on top to release the excess water.
- Next, ADD the sliced courgette, and COOK for 10 minutes until it begins to soften. Finally, ADD the cherry tomatoes, STIR and cook for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
- In the meantime, cook the pasta in salted boiling water. Reserve a cupful of pasta water to one side.
- Take two-thirds of the courgette tomato mix, add a couple of tablespoons of pasta water and blend, until achieved a creamy consistency. You can use a hand blender, food processor. What ever you have. Add more pasta water if needed.
- ADD the creamy courgette sauce to the pasta. TOSS it all together until the spaghetti is well coated in the sauce. Add more pasta water if necessary.
- Then stir in the remaining courgette and tomato.
- Eat immediately.
