Slow Cooked Courgette Pine Nut Pasta Food

EASY CAPONATA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add celery and cook uncovered until softened, about 1 minute. Drain in a colander and immediately immerse in ice water for several minutes to stop the cooking process. Drain.
• Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat; add onion and celery and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add eggplant, red bell peppers, and zucchini and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato puree, vinegar, and sugar. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Add olives, raisins, pine nuts, and capers. Season with salt and pepper and cook until flavors are well combined, about 5 minutes.
• Remove skillet from heat; stir in chopped basil. Cool and serve at room temperature.

COURGETTE & RICOTTA PASTA

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Cook the shallot and courgettes for 8 mins until softened. When they are just beginning to colour, add the garlic and cook for 2 mins more.
• Cook the pasta following pack instructions. Drain, reserving a little of the water. Tip the pasta into the courgette pan with the basil, lemon zest, Parmesan and pine nuts. Season, dot over the ricotta and mix gently so that you don't break it up too much. Serve sprinkled with extra Parmesan, if you like.

SLOW-COOKED COURGETTE & PINE NUT PASTA

Steps:

• Slice 2 courgettes in half lengthways, then into ½cm pieces. Peel and finely slice 2 cloves of garlic, then pick the leaves from 3 sprigs of fresh basil, finely slicing the stalks.
• Toast 2 tablespoons of pine nuts in large dry frying pan over a medium heat until lightly golden, tossing occasionally.
• Add a good lug of olive oil and the garlic, basil stalks and 1 big pinch of chilli flakes, then cook for 1 minute, or until golden.
• Add the courgette, season with sea salt and black pepper, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the courgettes are cooked down and creamy.
• With around 10 minutes to go, cook 150g of pasta according to the packet instructions, then drain, reserving a mugful of cooking water.
• Tip the pasta into the pan of courgette and toss together.
• Finely grate over 25g of Parmesan and crumble in 50g of ricotta, then loosen with a little reserved cooking water for a deliciously creamy finish.
• Taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed, then tear over the basil leaves and serve.

GORDON RAMSAY'S ZUCCHINI CANNELLONI WITH RICOTTA & PINE NUT

Steps:

• Slice the zucchinis lengthwise using a mandolin and blanch in boiling salted water. Place the strips on a tray and brush with the olive oil.
• Mix the ricotta, lemon juice and seasoning to taste, and then fold in the pine nuts and chopped herbs. Place a small tspful of ricotta mixture on one end of a zucchini strip and roll up. Repeat until the cheese filling has been used up.
• Arrange the zucchini cannelloni on a plate and grate over some black pepper. Drizzle with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar and serve.

PEPPER & LEMON SPAGHETTI WITH BASIL & PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Add the pepper and cook for 5 mins. Meanwhile, cook the pasta for 10-12 mins until tender.
• Add the courgette and garlic to the pepper and cook, stirring very frequently, for 10-15 mins until the courgette is really soft.
• Stir in the lemon zest and juice, basil and spaghetti (reserve some pasta water) and toss together, adding a little of the pasta water until nicely coated. Add the pine nuts, then spoon into bowls and serve topped with the parmesan, if using.

GRIDDLED COURGETTES WITH PINE NUTS & FETA

Steps:

• Brush a griddle pan with a little of the oil and place on a high heat, then griddle courgettes in batches for 2-3 mins on each side until charred and cooked through. Keep warm while you cook the rest.
• Layer on a platter and sprinkle over the lemon zest, then top with the feta, pine nuts, chilli and mint. Drizzle over the rest of the oil and some seasoning. Serve warm or at room temperature.

FETTUCCINE WITH ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• Place zucchini in a colander, toss with salt and set aside to drain in sink or over a bowl 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons oil in a heavy sauté pan, add onion, pine nuts and garlic and sauté over low heat about 10 minutes, until onion is soft and nuts start to brown. Rinse and drain zucchini and add to pan. Sauté about 20 minutes, until tender.
• Bring large pot of salted water to a boil for pasta, cook pasta about 3 minutes and drain, reserving about 1 cup pasta water. Add pasta to sauté pan, cook over low heat about 5 minutes, to blend ingredients, adding pasta water as needed. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in parsley, cheese and additional olive oil and serve.