Mafalde integrali con zucchine from Lazio

Wholewheat pasta gets a bad rap. That probably has something to do with the horrible gluey types that first came onto the market – you know, the ones that never quite cooked right and became a sludgey outside and kind of chewey inside.

Well, wholegrain pasta has come a long way since then, and many of the brands on the market today (it’s worth spending a little more) have a lovely texture and a slightly nutty flavour. As one of my favourite pasta dishes is pasta with courgettes from the Lazio region, I decided to pair the two, and this was the result:

Yum! You will need (serves 2):

150g wholegrain pasta (here I used a shape called “mafalde”)
4 large (or six medium) courgettes
One clove of garlic
Olive oil
One red chilli
Salt and pepper to taste
Half a glass of dry white wine
Thyme
Pecorino Romano cheese (optional)

All you need to do is roughly grate the courgettes and finely chop the garlic and chilli.

Lightly fry the garlic and chilli in oil to release the flavours, then add the courgettes, stir to coat and chuck in the white wine and the thyme. Let that bubble away on a low heat until the courgettes begin to turn into a soft paste – add more wine or some water if you would like to get the consistency of a pasta sauce.

As the courgettes are cooking, get the pasta ready.

Once the pasta and the courgettes are at the right point, drain the pasta and throw it into the pan with the courgettes. Stir to coat while adding the pecorino, should you choose to use it, and salt and pepper to taste.

And there you have it… ready to serve, an extremely healthy Italian pasta dish which uses something other than tomatoes in the sauce . Don’t get me wrong, I love tomatoes, but sometimes you just need something a little different, and this hits the spot.