Rigatoni with Zucchini (Courgette) Pesto & Broccoli
Rigatoni with Zucchini (Courgette) Pesto & Broccoli is a hearty pasta dish. Jam-packed with goodness. Meatless Monday's never tasted so good!
Servings: 4
Equipment
- mandoline (recommended)
- Stick blender/small food processor
Ingredients
- 400 g dried rigatoni pasta
- small head broccoli (about 150g)
Zucchini Pesto
- 500 g zucchini/courgettes (3-4 medium-sized)
- olive oil
- 20 g parmesan
- small handful basil leaves (about 15g)
- Small handful mint leaves (about 15g)
- 25 g pine nuts (2 Tablespoons)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper
To Garnish
- freshly grated parmesan
- drizzle olive oil
Instructions
- Prepare Zucchini/Courgette – coarsely grate or thinly slice using a mandoline or knife.500 g zucchini/courgettes
- Sauté Zucchini /Courgette- preheat the frying pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and then the zucchini. Toss to coat, dragging apart slices that have clumped together. The slices will give up a bit of water and cook in the steam generated. You can crank up the heat to get some colour on the zucchini, stirring often to stop it sticking too much. The slices will start to mostly disintegrate and reduce in volume.olive oil
- Pasta Water - bring a large pot of well-salted water to the boil.
- Make Pesto – finely grate the parmesan. Add to a tall container (if using a stick blender) or small food processor. Add the collapsed heap of zucchini. Add another 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the basil, mint, pine nuts and salt. Add a tablespoon or two of water into the still-hot pan and de-glaze. A flat-ended wooden spatula is handy for loosening the stuck-on bits. Add this to the other pesto ingredients and blend until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl for quicker use once the pasta is cooked.olive oil20 g parmesansmall handful basil leavesSmall handful mint leaves25 g pine nuts½ teaspoon salt
- Prepare Broccoli - cut off the broccoli stem. Peel or cut a thin layer from around the outside, trim the end and discard. Slice the rest of the stem into thin rounds. Separate the broccoli head into small florets and thinly slice to get little ‘tree’ slices.small head broccoli
- Cook Pasta - cook the pasta in plenty of salted water for the suggested cooking time on the packet MINUS a couple of minutes, before it's cooked all the way. In the last minute of this (reduced) cooking time, skim off about a cup of the frothy starchy pasta water and set aside. Tip the broccoli into the pasta to cook with it for the last couple of minutes. You want the broccoli to still have a touch of bite to it when you finish cooking the pasta.400 g dried rigatoni pasta
- Combine – once the pasta is cooked, strain it with the broccoli. Stir through the zucchini pesto. Add as much of the reserved pasta water as you want to loosen to the desired consistency. Use a flexible spatula to combine everything together gently but thoroughly. Serve with plenty of freshly ground black pepper.freshly ground black pepper
- Serve - with extra freshly grated parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.freshly grated parmesandrizzle olive oil
Notes
Make Ahead
You can make the pesto ahead and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge before using. All you’ll need to do is cook the pasta with broccoli to complete the dish. Remember to reserve some of the pasta water to thin it out.