I do think that courgettes need some help from other ingredients to bring out their own distinctive taste. Creating a dish that brings out the delicate courgette flavour by enhancing it with fresh mint, a little butter for creaminess, savouriness from the Parmigiano Reggiano and mild tasting pasta to hold all the flavours together is the way to eat them.
My one caveat for this recipe, only make it when courgettes are in season. BRITISH grown courgettes during the summer taste the absolute best.
Miraculous ingredients: Courgettes (in season), fresh mint leaves, good quality pasta (Guiseppe Cocco is very good), Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan)
Fusilli with courgettes and mint
Ingredients
300g courgettes (in season from April to early October) finely sliced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 springs of fresh mint leaves finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 250g Fusilli (good quality Italian pasta – I use Giuseppe Cocco) Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano to serve
Method
Place a large pan that can hold a good 3 litres of water onto a high heat. When the water starts to boil add a teaspoon of salt and all the fusilli.
Put a dry medium size frying pan on a low heat to warm up as you get the ingredients ready. Finely slice the courgettes. I use a mandolin as it is super fast and cuts extremely thin slices which in turn reduce the cooking time.
Add the olive oil and butter to the pan, let the butter melt and then add the chopped garlic. Cook the garlic for about 20 seconds. Don’t let the garlic brown and release any bitterness.
Add the sliced courgettes and some water, about ½ a teacup so the courgettes don’t dry out – the water will evaporate during cooking. Turn the heat up to high. Stir occasionally as you do not want the courgettes to colour too much. If the pan gets too dry add a little more water.
When the courgettes have developed a creamy texture add the finely chopped mint leaves and stir. Cook for a couple more minutes and then turn the heat off.
When the fusilli is cooked al dente (soft on the outside but slightly hard in the middle), add the fusilli to the courgette sauce in the frying pan and stir well. Add 3-4 tablespoons of pasta water to help create a more of a sauce (the starch in the pasta water thickens the sauce). Serve immediately with lots of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
Preparation time 10 minutes, cooking 10 minutes, serves 4