Spaghetti courgette
€2.63 │ €0.66 per portion │ Serves 4 │ Under 30mins │ Italy
Spaghetti courgette - or spaghetti alla nerano - is a deliciously silky courgette pasta dish bursting with fresh, green flavours.
Explore our simple recipe and presentation tips ready to suit any week's meal plan.
What to serve it with?
Spaghetti courgette goes great with a fresh salad, think peppery rocket and cherry tomatoes. You could also serve with garlic bread, roasted greens, or bruschetta.
Not to mention a crisp white wine!
How to use in a meal plan
Good home economics is using ingredients smartly - and that saves money and cuts food waste. A meal plan is a great way to do this.
Spaghetti courgette is a fast dish that's easy to make. It's all about the courgette, which makes it simple, affordable, and good to place in between heavier dishes.
Leftovers
Spoonfeed meal plans save you money by using the economy of scale. Making dinner also your leftover lunch avoids spending money and extra time cooking!
Spaghetti courgette is best eaten fresh, though it is fine the next day too. When reheating in the microwave, flick a splash of water over the plate to ensure it does not dry out.
Utensils
- Frying pan
- Saucepan + lid
- Tongs
Ingredients
- 500g spaghetti
- 1-2 courgettes
- 1 garlic clove
- Cheese to grate
- Fresh basil
- Black pepper
- Olive oil
Good presentation has a big impact on simple dishes. Reserve courgette slices to place on top. Chop fresh basil lightly as cutting too hard forces the freshness into the cutting board. Serve spaghetti with tongs, twisting until it is entirely wrapped around the tongs with no long strings hanging down. Place it parallel across your bowl and with a fork gently push it onto the bowl, leaving a long nest.
Method
- Cut courgette into 1cm thin slices. Peel a garlic clove. Prepare salted boiling water and put in your pasta to boil.
- Pour olive oil into a frying pan, enough to cover the surface. Bring to a medium heat and add the whole garlic clove. Move it around for 30 seconds to infuse the oil, and then discard the garlic.
- Sauté courgette in batches. Fry until soft and browning on both sides. Use tongs to turn the slices carefully without damaging them.
- In a bowl, blend or mash 1/3 of the courgette. Add 1 tbsp pasta water and 1 tbsp grated cheese to the blend. It should be relatively thick, enough to cling to the pasta.
- Once cooked to packet instructions, drain pasta (keeping extra pasta water to be safe) and add to the sauce. Add more pasta water if it is too dry. Add back in the sliced courgette, reserving some for serving. Add black pepper to taste.
- Serve with grated cheese, chopped basil, and the remaining slices of courgette.
- Enjoy!