Zucchini Pasta with Pine Nuts and Mint
Meet your new best pasta friend. This Zucchini Pasta is quick and full of flavor that is ready in 20 minutes with only 7 ingredients! Vegan too.
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Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 480kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound farfalle fusilli or rigatoni
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 pound zucchini or summer squash cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
- 1 cup fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning and the pasta water
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook pasta. Heat a large pot of heavily salted water over high heat. Once water is boiling, add Farfalle pasta and cook according to package instructions. Drain.
- Sauté zucchini. While pasta is cooking, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan (one that can hold the zucchini in a single layer is best) over medium-high heat. Once visibly shimmering, add zucchini and stir to coat in the oil then spread out to an even layer. Let cook, undisturbed until brown on one side, then stir and continue cooking and occasionally stirring until zucchini is tender, but still retains a little bite, about 5 minutes total. Season with the teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper Remove from heat. It will seem salty but will be good once you mix it with the pasta.
- Combine. Add cooked pasta to zucchini pan and toss with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, pine nuts and mint. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary. If it seems dry add another drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy!
Notes
- Salt your pasta water! Add enough salt to the water so it tastes as salty as sea water.
- Get the frying pan really hot, like heat for 2 minutes. Then add oil, let heat, then add zucchini.
- Only add enough zucchini so it is in a single layer in the pan. If your pan is not large enough, do this in batches.
- Don't stir zucchini while cooking. Toss to coat in the oil, then leave it alone to brown.
- Don't salt until zucchini is done cooking. Adding salt in the beginning brings out the zucchini's juices which steams the zucchini instead of browning it.
- Additions: garlic, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, parmesan or pecorino.