Go Back
Sibby Barrett

Grilled Zucchini with Creamy Pesto and Lemon

A summer favorite to use up all that fresh zucchini and basil! Make up a double batch of this pesto, change up the nut or cheese, switch out the grilled vegetable du jour, swap out the pasta shape and you have endless varieties of a quick summer dinner. Bright lemon notes, herbaceous basil, creaminess from the parmesan and the jot of cream, touch of heat with the crushed red pepper flakes, it's got it all going on!
Print Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings: 8
Course: Main Course, pasta
Cuisine: Italian, American
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

Pesto
  • 5 cloves garlic roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup toasted nuts almonds, pecans, walnuts, pine nuts, hazelnuts...
  • 2-3 cups fresh basil leaves loosely packed
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 3/4 cup good quality olive oil
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese finely grated
Vegetables
  • 4-5 zucchini sub in any vegetable you have on hand
  • olive oil, salt and pepper
Pasta
  • 20 ounces dry pasta bucatini, orecchiette, farfalle
Sauce
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes more or less as you like
  • 1 large shallot diced or grated
  • 4 large garlic cloves diced or grated
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • juice of one lemon about 2-3 tablespoons
  • 1/2-1 cup cream
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
  • basil leaves garnish

Equipment

  • food processor
  • grill or grill pan

Method
 

Pesto
  1. In a food processor bowl, combine garlic, nuts, basil, sugar, salt and pepper. Pulse until they just come together but are not yet a paste. With the motor running, slowly pour in the olive oil, stopping to scrape the bowl as needed. Check the texture and flavor, adding up to ¼ cup more olive oil as needed as desired. Transfer pesto to a bowl and stir in the Parmesan. Set aside.
Vegetables
  1. Preheat grill or grill pan to medium high heat. Split zucchini in half lengthwise and brush with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and then season with salt and pepper. Place cut side down and cook both sides until nicely browned, about 10-15 minutes total. Set aside to cool and then roughly chop
Pasta
  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt heavily. Begin to cook the pasta, according to the package directions, cooking to al dente
Sauce
  1. While pasta is cooking, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium sized Dutch oven or very large skillet over medium high heat. Add crushed red pepper, shallot and garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring until fragrant. Add chopped zucchini, salt, pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until zucchini is jammy, thick and starting to stick to the bottom of the pan, about 10-12 minutes.
    When pasta is done, save 2 cups of the pasta water and then move the pasta from the water to the zucchini pan, using tongs or a slotted spoon, allowing water to drip and cling to the pasta. Reduce heat to medium low and add ½ cup of the pasta water and ½ -1 cup of cream and stir to combine. Add ¼ cup Parmesan and pour in another ½ cup of the pasta water and stir really well to make a creamy sauce that coats the pasta. This process should take about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and adjust seasonings as needed. Serve the pasta with the pesto drizzled or spooned over the top with a sprinkling of basil leaves.