Zucchini Pasta

By Mark Bittman

Zucchini Pasta
Francesco Tonelli for The New York Times
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(1,512)
Comments
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Zucchini, not pasta, is the star of the show in this easy weeknight dish from Mark Bittman. Six zucchinis, two tomatoes and one onion for a half pound of pasta make this a vegetable-rich tangle that makes worthy use of your farmers' market haul.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • Salt and pepper
  • ¼cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 5 or 6medium zucchini, rinsed, trimmed and cut into ribbons or coins
  • 1large onion, chopped
  • 2 or 3sprigs thyme
  • 2tomatoes, in wedges or roughly chopped, with their juice
  • ½pound cut pasta, like ziti or penne
  • Freshly grated Parmesan or freshly chopped parsley for garnish.
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

407 calories; 15 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 58 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 11 grams sugars; 12 grams protein; 1028 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Put olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini, onion and thyme, and cook, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper and adjust heat so onion and zucchini release their liquid without browning. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until very tender.

  2. Step 2

    Add tomatoes and their liquid to zucchini and raise heat a bit so mixture bubbles. Cook pasta until it is nearly but not quite tender. If sauce threatens to dry out, add a little pasta cooking water.

  3. Step 3

    Drain pasta and finish cooking it in sauce. Serve, garnished with parsley or Parmesan.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,512 user ratings
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Comments

Andrew

Added red pepper flakes, minced garlic and olives

Helen

I used my spiralizer to make ribbons of zucchini. For the garnish, I used freshly shredded parmesan, which was really great. Although this was quite tasty, it might be a bit bland. I plan to serve the leftovers with hot Italian sausage to give it some punch.

Anna

I threw a couple of handfuls of frozen, deveined, deshelled shrimp with the zuchs, and added a bit of lemon juice and white whine when I added the tomatoes. If I make this again I might add some garlic.

Julia

Love how Bittman recipes are easy and provide a foundation for additions and experimentation. Added garlic per comments and basil instead of thyme because it was in the crisper. Added a pound of shrimp for last 5 minutes of cooking. Really really delicious summer pasta recipe!

AG

We add toasted pine nuts and it takes the dish to another level.

Christine S.

Just cooked tonight. Husband has a huge garden, it’s 0ct. 2, East Moriches, NY, south shore LI. He did a second late planting zucchini and yellow squash, have new yellow squash and zucchini, a gift, and garden thyme. Still have a few tomatoes, so when I searched this recipe sounded perfect. Only addition I did (which usually don’t like other comments re: changing recipes) was to add small chopped pieces of a porchetta my son herbed/rolled/cooked on Weber kettle grill rotisserie attachment!

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