Zucchini (Courgette) Papardelle

Zucchini (Courgette) Paperdelle I do enjoy eating and cooking with squash, winter and summer. But sometimes it is a bit boring. It is however the perfect canvas to try different methods of cooking. Last Winter I went to Los Angeles for a few days. Always a treat to see friends and family, but also I find the West coast cooks slightly differently from the East coast. Perhaps the ever present need to be a size 0 or 2, is not quite as desperate in New York and so we succumb to winter warmers which are necessary to survive a North Eastern Winter. While Miranda and I were driving one morning she suddenly said, “I know where we can go for dinner, there is something you have to try. This restaurant down near the beach makes zucchini spaghetti as an alternative to wheat pasta” In my mind I mentally went “Blah” but was prepared to try it. Looking at the menu at Cafe Delfini there were certainly all kind of yummy things I wanted. The zucchini spaghetti came with 3 or 4 options for sauce. I believe I had a Ragu. It was delicious, for me the interesting thing was how filling it was. The zucchini had been julienned into long strips, as I ate it, I thought about how it would have been cooked. Definitely not boiled, it would disintegrate. Sauteed in olive oil did cross my mind. A week ago, arriving back in London from the Isle of Wight. Sue told me that she had seen Nigel Slater make a Courgettini dish that she wanted to try. You shaved the courgette with a potato peeler, sauteed it, served it with a home made pesto and Pecorino cheese. Aha, back to the zucchini spaghetti. We made it, and it was delicious. Once back in NYC I was eager to try a few different versions of my own. Over the weekend I shaved a Romano zucchini, sauteed it with a few local scallions (spring onions) with some pine nuts with parmigiana cheese. Last night, I sauteed a handful of cherry tomatoes in the olive oil. Removed them, and put to one side. Adding a little more Olive Oil, one hot I added the shaved Romano zucchini, sea salt and pepper, and let it cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add a chopped garlic clove, continue to cook for a couple of more minutes, add the tomatoes back to the zucchini mix, and a handful of thinly sliced basil leaves, finished off with a good grating of Pecorino Romano cheese. Even someone that does not usually enjoy zucchini has eaten this and enjoyed it!