Spaghetti Zucchini Ricotta Lemon Zest Recipe

What’s great about this dish is that the cut zucchini mimic the shape of the spaghetti, which makes for a fun contrast. The easiest way to do this is with a mandolin — a great tool to have in your kitchen in general — Benriner makes a very good one, which you can find at any Asian market. For the zucchini, I like to use a light green variety, you can find at any good Farmer’s market, but regular will work just fine.
 
Recipe developed by Jessica Boncutter, Photos by Aya Brackett
PREP TIME

15 minutes

COOK TIME

11 minutes

SERVES

4 as a main, 6 as a starter

Ingredients

  • 1 Package Felicetti Organic Spaghetti
  • 4 Medium sized zucchini (preferably light green variety), sliced length-wise on a mandolin,
    then cut into thin strips, loosely trying to match shape of pasta
  • 3 Cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1 Dried chile, crumbled
  • 7 Basil leaves, torn
  • 3 large tablespoons of superior quality ricotta
  • 3 tablespoons good quality olive oil
    Parmesan, grated to taste
    zest of ½ lemon
    salt to taste
  •  

Method

  1. Boil spaghetti in lightly salted water, according to instructions on packaging
  2. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, combine garlic, chili, and zucchini strips in olive oil,
    cooking for 10 minutes, mixing in torn basil leaves about halfway through.
  3. Drain Pasta.
  4. Add cooked pasta to zucchini mixture, along with ricotta and lemon zest.
  5. Mix well, ensuring that ricotta is broken up and evenly distributed.
  6. Plate, and top with grated Parmigiano to taste.