A lot of us probably have a glut of courgettes right now, trying to pick them before they seemingly overnight turn from tiny to marrow-sized monsters!
I like to peel and julienne them and have raw in a spicy Thai-style salad - they have a very similar texture to green papaya so make a great substitute when you’re craving som tam.
And last week at my sister’s in Cornwall (first time out on a train since lockdown! Seeing the sea! Seeing family!) we made a really nice lunch from a recipe I’d been reading (by Letitia Clark) and immediately wanted to try.
As the courgettes were begging to be picked and cooked, it was pretty immediate too.
That recipe is HERE and is a delicious Italian dish of slow-cooked courgettes with mint, chilli and almonds. We had it warm with crusty baguette and my favourite Roquefort cheese.
So when I arrived home a couple of nights later, yes to the sound of those begging courgettes here too, I made a kind of version of this to have with spaghetti.
I am slightly obsessed with very simple pasta recipes this year and this is now a new favourite. Cook the courgettes slowly so they’re a bit mushy and creamy and they are just perfect with the spaghetti and a good grating of fresh parmesan cheese.
Quantities are really up to you as you can make as much as you like, perhaps saving any leftover courgette sauce for lunch the next day, or just because you already know you’re going to be wanting more than one bowl of this summer lushness.
But this is what I used to make enough sauce for two:
olive oil
2 courgettes, washed, sliced lengthways and then into thin horizontal slices
1 clove of garlic, peele and squashed and finely minced (there’s two in this photo but I changed my mind and used on one - you use what feels right for you)
2 anchovies from the jar, with a little of their oil, roughly chopped (optional - just leave out if you don’t have or don’t like)
1 dried red chilli, or just a pinch of dried red chilli flakes
1 big fat spring onion, topped and tailed, any tough outer layer removed, and sliced
zest and juice of half a lemon
fresh mint and/or parsley leaves, chopped
salt and pepper to season
fresh parmesan to grate over
OK, so firstly, I’m going to ignore the cooking of the spaghetti as I’m sure you’ll get that underway while the courgettes are cooking.
Personally I bring a big saucepan of water to the boil with a pinch of salt and when boiling add the spaghetti, stirring as it folds into the water, and then cook for - I think - ten minutes, maybe 11.
I like to do this alongside the sauce so that if the sauce needs loosening at all I can use a little of the nice hot starchy pasta water to do so.
Anyway.
Put a good sized non-stick pan over a medium heat, add a slosh of olive oil and then courgettes and garlic and cook, stirring often, for 5-10 minutes until they start to slightly brown in places. Add a slosh of water if it looks like sticking though at any time and take it slowly and gently - maybe reduce that medium heat to a medium-low if that’s feeling more like it for you today.
Throw in the anchovies, reduce the heat to low and stir, stir, stir (gently) for a minute or two until the anchovies do their anchovy trick of just vanishing and leaving behind a full savoury slight saltiness to the dish (without tasting fishy either).
Crumble in the dried chilli and add the spring onion and a little slosh of water and cook for another ten minutes of so on a low heat with the pan covered, stirring every once in a while.
Uncover the pan, stir and taste. Add the lemon zest and juice, and the herbs, stir again and taste again before adding seasoning.
You can cook for a bit longer of course if you’d like your courgettes even creamier and mushier.
You might not need to add salt if you added the anchovies but a good grind of pepper might be good.
Tip the spaghetti into the pan of sauce to make sure it’s thoroughly coated and then put into a bowl and grate over (lots of) fresh parmesan.
So summery, so good and so good for using up those courgettes too!
