Zucchini. Summer in a vegetable. We love to cook them every which way: as a base for delicious omelettes, stuffed with rice or meat, grilled and served in oil with garlic and parsley and even steamed for a delicious and light side dish. In this recipe, we buy them fresh directly from the farmer, then grill and turn them into pesto. For added flavour, we throw in a bunch of freshly picked mint, the zing of Sardinian pecorino cheese and the enveloping and genuine taste of our 100% Tuscan olive oil. The end result? A jar of appetizing pesto with all the flavours and aromas of summer. Perfect for pasta or as a sauce with grilled white meat, but beware, this pesto can be addictive!
This recipe is too easy to stuff up, but the ingredients make all the difference. The oil must be good, the zucchini the best you can find from a trusted farmer and the highest quality pecorino you can buy.
Spaghetti With Zucchini and Mint Pesto
Ingredients for 4 people
2 zucchini (about 200g each)
30g aged PDO Sardinian pecorino
30g unsalted and shelled pistachios
100ml La Maliosa Aurinia extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch of fresh mint
salt
320g spaghetti
Method
Wash the zucchini, cut off the ends and cut into thin slices lengthwise. Grill in a hot cast iron pan. Cool. Grate the pecorino cheese. Pick the mint leaves from their stems, wash gently and dry on a paper towel.
Combine the oil, mint, grilled zucchini, pistachios and grated pecorino in a blender. Blend until you get a smooth pesto, transfer to a bowl. Season with salt. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Add salt and cook the spaghetti until al dente. While the pasta is cooking, take a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid and add it the bowl with the pesto. Drain the pasta and add to the pesto. Mix well and serve immediately. If you want, you can add some extra grated pecorino.
Pics and recipe @Sara Milletti
