Simple grated zucchini spicy mint pasta within 30 minutes. It’s a quick & easy recipe with refreshing mint and spicy flavours. This recipe goes perfect with spaghetti, linguine, fettucine or fusilli. In general, any kind of pasta goes well but these are my favourites to cook in a ‘semi-dry sauce’.
My first time eating this zucchini pasta was at my friend’s home and I loved it! Her friend from Greece was on visit and cooked for us a quick meal as it was quite late for dinner 😊. She learnt cooking this simple pasta from a family in Sardinia while she explored the island. A typical home-made pasta that feeds people’s soul with happiness.
For the refreshing taste, I use Greek dried spearmint (dyosmos). I got this from my friend after having this superlicous pasta experience, supplied directly from the farmers and no chemicals. The flavours are close to fresh peppermint but it packs a more potent punch with spicy notes and is milder than peppermint.
In addition, I will use shallots, oyster mushroom and lemon juice in my recipe for the extra texture and flavours. In the original home-made ‘Sardinian’ recipe, it contains only garlic, chili, zucchini and parmigiano topping. You can omit all additional ingredients and keep to the original flavours. The cooking method and steps are the same.
You can also make this pasta vegan and gluten-free, it all depends on what ingredients you like to cook with.
Cooking time for one regular portion: less than 30 minutes
Ingredients & Tools
- Pasta for 1 person
- ½ grated zucchini aka courgette
- 1 chopped garlic toe
- A little bit of thin sliced spicy chili. If your chili is hot spicy, use much less as you like to have a nice balance between mint & spicy flavours.
- 1 overfull tsp cut dried mint leaves or extra to taste
- Salt
- 1,5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Topping: fine grated parmigiano cheese
- Pan for pasta
- Colander
- 1 big bowl
- Vegetable grater (ultra coarse grater)
- 1 big mug
Additional ingredients for the extra texture and flavours
- ½ chopped shallot
- ¼ fresh lemon juice
- 50gr or 2 handful shredded oyster mushroom
What to do?
- ————- Boil the pasta ————-
- Pre-boil water in the water boiler for 70-80°C. If you don’t have a temperature regulating boiler, no problem. Just boil the water.
- Spread the pasta in the pan and pour in the boiling water.
- Put a little bit salt in the pan and cook for 10min. It’s better to check your pasta package on how long it needs to be boiled. Cooking time may differ for different brands.
- Very important – do not pour oil in the pasta and stir the pasta from time to time.
- ————- Prepare ingredients ————-
- While boiling the pasta, rinse the zucchini and cut in half for 1 person. No need to peel the skin.
- Grate the zucchini in a big bowl.
- Chop 1 garlic toe.
- Chop ½ shallot.
- Shred 50gr (2 handful) oyster mushroom or tear along the stem.
- Cut ¼ of a lemon.
- ————- Start cooking ————-
- Once the pasta is boiled for 10min, fill 1 mug full of pasta water and keep aside for later.
- Drain the pasta in a colander and let it be.
- Re-use the pan and heat the pan with 1,5 Tbsp olive oil.
- Sizzle the garlic and add the shallots. Make sure that the garlic does not burn, avoid brown-ish colouring.
- Add the zucchini in the pan and sprinkle some salt.
- Stir ingredients until the zucchini gets a bit soft and add the oyster mushroom and chili.
- Stir ingredients and simmer light for a few minutes. Add extra salt to taste.
- Once all is soft and most liquid is evaporated. Turn the heat low.
- Above the sink, swirl ½ cup pasta water in the colander to make the pasta loose as it might stick a bit.
- Toss the pasta in the pan, add 1 overfull tsp dried mint or extra to taste and stir all ingredients for another 1 min.
- If you find the pasta ‘sauce’ too dry, you can pour in a little bit of the remaining pasta cooking water in the pan to make it moisty.
- Squeeze ¼ lemon juice into the pasta and stir quick & short. Switch off the heat.
- Serve the pasta on the plate and sprinkle grated parmigiano cheese on top.
I hope you enjoy this simple meal 😊 Bon appetite.
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