I had this dish in Italy last summer and loved it. What an ingenious recipe! An enticing way to prepare a humble vegetable into something utterly delicious. Good quality bacon or pancetta pays off in this recipe.
Yield: 4 servings
Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup (140 g) diced bacon or pancetta
- 3 medium zucchinis, sliced into thin batons
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 Tbsp Herbes de Provence
- 2 cups (500 ml) crème fraîche
- 12 oz (360 g) tagliatelle or spaghetti
Preparation:
Heat olive oil and sizzle bacon or pancetta until crisp. Set aside on paper towels.
Add zucchini batons to a saucepan and sauté until zucchini barely starts to limp. Add Herbes de Provence and freshly ground pepper. Set zucchini batons aside on paper towels to drain.
Sauté shallots and garlic for about 2-3 minutes or until shallots are soft. Return bacon, zucchini to the pan. Add crème fraîche and keep it warm at low heat. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
Cook pasta al-dente and reserve one cup of cooking water for later. Drain pasta and add it to the zucchini and crème fraîche. Mix everything gently, add pasta cooking water bit by bit until the sauce has reached a consistency, to your liking. Serve with freshly ground Parmesan.
