This recipe is inspired by our trip to Puglia. They make all the pasta by hand, they don’t use eggs at all and the texture is just incredible. Compared to classic pasta, these are a little more “chewy” and I absolutely love it!
For 2 portions
240 g fresh orecchiette
1 zucchini
20 g butter
1 white radish (the round one, not daikon)
50 g pecorino
1 spring onion
100 g thai basil
30 ml olive oil
salt and pepper
Cook the pasta in salted water for about 6 to 8 minutes, until it is al dente.
Cut the outer part of the zucchini (with skin on) to small dices, blanch them in salted boiling water and put aside.
Cut the rest of the zucchini and spring onion coarsely and put them in salted boiling water. After five minutes add most of the basil (save the nice leaves for final plating) and in a few seconds move everything to cold water. This way, the veggies will keep its nice green colour.
Blend the mixture with some olive oil and season to taste. I recommend using some fine olive oil, as the zucchini might be a little bitter sometimes.
Reheat the pasta with butter, add the zucchini pesto and grated cheese.
Dice the white radish and add it to the plate. Don’t forget to add the diced zucchini and serve with pecorino shavings and basil leaves.
