Eatable Elldrew

Zesty Courgette Spaghetti

Courgette Spaghetti

One of the great things about the internet is the constant inspiration it provides. We recently scrolled across a photo of this wonderful looking zesty courgette spaghetti pasta dish, deliciously created and shot by Australian food stylist @tracyvalentinawood who we follow on Instagram. Tracy’s Insta account is full of amazing dishes she creates and well worth a follow if you are ever looking for food styling inspiration.

As our antipodean friends begin their summer, despite the dark wintery days setting in this side of the globe, we couldn’t resist plating up a bit of sunshine by way of this simple, colourful and tasty pasta dish. We’ve developed the recipe as only ingredients were listed, but it’s an easy dish to perfect and make your own as all the flavours complement each other beautifully. PS Tracy’s styling puts ours to shame!

INGREDIENTS (for 3-4 people):

  • 2-3 courgettes (zucchini’s for the Aussies)
  • A good handful of vine ripened cherry tomatoes (or 2-3 plum tomatoes), seeded
  • 150g goats cheese
  • 1 packet of fresh basil
  • 1 lemon
  • A handful of capers
  • A handful of grated parmesan
  • Olive oil
  • Chilli flakes (dried)
  • 1 medium pepper (capsicum for the you-know-who’s). An extra ingredient added by us – yellow for more colour
  • 120g dried (or fresh) spaghetti
  • Salt and pepper for seasoning

Courgette Spaghetti ingredients

RECIPE:

  1. Slice the courgettes lengthwise into fine ribbons using a mandolin or vegetable peeler.
  2. Combine the lemon juice, a generous glug of olive oil and a teaspoon or two of chilli flakes (based on personal preference) with the capers and courgette ribbons, marinating for around 15 -20 minutes (give it a good stir to make sure the courgette is well coated). Lightly season.
  3. Squeeze the seeds out of the tomatoes and roughly chop, repeat with the pepper.
  4. Roughly tear up the basil leaves and crumble the goats cheese.
  5. Cook the spaghetti in salted water for 7-8 minutes, until al dente.
  6. Drain and place in a large bowl, adding a dash of olive oil to stop the pasta from sticking (we tossed the spaghetti to let some of the heat escape).
  7. Add in all the other ingredients and toss to infuse (you could add some more seasoning or oil depending on the balance of flavours and how you like to serve your pasta).

You should end up with lovely zesty flavours from the lemon and capers, mixed with summer essentials of goats cheese, basil and tomatoes that creates a colourful moorish dish to be enjoyed hot, lukewarm or cold. Throwing in the handful of parmesan at the end does add an extra ‘bite’, and who doesn’t love parmesan with pasta? Enjoy.

For more inspiring recipes click here.

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