Lemony linguini with zucchini 'noodles'

I’m a big fan of lemony pasta dishes and with this recipe I wanted to keep the zucchini raw and pack as much flavour in. It’s a super simple dish and ideal for a quick week night supper or to make alongside some tasty chicken kebabs. I just came up with that, but was thinking if you are the type pf person that needs some protein with your food, a chicken kebab would go well here. Or crispy bacon, but I digress.

I made the zucchini noodles – or zoodles as they have become know as, with my spiraliser on the thinnest setting. You could of course julienne them if you don’t have this gadget, but if you are a fan of vegetables, specifically the zucchini, then this is a fantastic piece of kitchen equipment to have in your arsenal.

I love zoodles stir fried with parmesan. They kind of masquerade as pasta and are utterly delicious. They work with so many things including baked goods, and I put this vegetable right up in my top three.

They make unbelievably good shoestring fries

Are delicious in a quiche with bacon

Can turn a carbonara vegetarian

They rock a frittata with mint

Are rawalicious with green beans, walnuts and blue cheese in a salad

Add greens to an Amatraciana pasta sauce

And are sublime on a pizza with mozzarella soaked in cream

You get where I’m going here, and I had comepletely forgotten about my chilli and garlic prawn linguine with bacon, zucchini and lemon

There really are even more on this site but lets cut to the chase and get to THIS recipe.

The lemon juice and olive oil makes a dressing that wilts the zucchini slightly while the pasta cooks. When tossed through the hot noodles which still have their water clinging to them they soften even further. I like to add a lot of Parmesan cheese to this dish and used a local version from Prince Albert which is nutty and delicious. The chilli gives it heat and I think impreative here. I have used the Rocking Chilli from Terra Madre because I can control the heat levels and its utterly delicious. You can of course use a chopped up fresh chilli too. The parsley gives the dish herbaceousness and I think basil would probably work briliantly too.

Recipe – serves 2

Prep Time:10

Cook Time:20

Total Time:20

Ingredients

250 gm - 300gm linguine
2 - 3 cups zucchini 'noodles' / zoodles
juice and zest from half a lemon
half a garlic clove crushed
3 - 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp chili pasta or a freshly chopped chilli, or however much you like
3 Tbsp chopped parsley
salt and pepper

Instructions

Boil the linguini in salty water according to the packet instructions.
While this is on the go, spiralise the zucchini and place in a bowl with all the ingredients except the parsley and Parmesan. Toss to coat the zzodles well.
When the pasta is cooked, drain and immidately add to the zucchini (reserve a little of the cooking liquid in case you want to add some more).
Toss this all together with the parsley and parmesan and serve straight away with more Parmesan

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13 Comments

Simply delicious !!!!

Lovely post Sam, I do this quite often in summer with a tub of ricotta stirred thro for a creamier sauce and it also ups the protein a bit. I am busy roasting a tray of coarsly grated cougettes with olive oil, chilli flakes and a tub of crumbled ricotta. To be mixed into cooked pasta with lemon salt and pepper. Inspired by Anna Jones A Modern Way to Cook. May add a tin of chickpeas too. Your pics are mouthwatering as always.

Oh wow Beryl this sounds stunning. Do you roast the ricotta with the courgettes?

Thanks Mila 🙂

Yes just crumble coarsly. It browns nicely without melting. We love baked ricotta as a starter. Take the whole ricotta and cut it into wedges along the lines imprinted from the basket. Season with chilli flakes and thyme and pour over a fair bit of olive oil. Then bake at 180. I sometimes add olives too. Then eat with good bread.

Gorgeous simple pasta dish! I love the idea of the zoodles mixed with regular pasta!

Perfect for vegetarians & Sam your pics are stunningly amazing

Thnaks so much Usha. I guess the Parmesan precludes it from being striclty vegetarian

Thanks Sabrina, Im a big fan of hte raw and hte cooked combined.

Thats great! I bought some delicious ricotta at the market on Saturday and it was divine. Of course I do make my own and should get back into that too as its so super easy.