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Zucchini Spaghetti with Pesto, White Beans & Roasted Tomatoes

Zucchini Spaghetti with Pesto, White Beans & Roasted Tomatoes
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Zucchini Spaghetti with Pesto, White Beans & Roasted Tomatoes

Course: Dinner
Servings

4

servings

In 2015, I was studying for the Bar Exam and bought my first “spiralizer”. The ease at which it turned a humble zucchini into something fabulous was exactly what I needed after a long day of stress snacking while cramming Constitutional Law. Nowadays, the novelty of the spiraled vegetable has worn off on me a bit, but I still find myself reaching for my spiralizer during the Summer. I adore grilled zucchini, but live in a high rise where grills are prohibited. Thus, whenever I buy or am given zucchini, I either make my legendary shaved zucchini salad,
or make some sort of pasta situation.

In the Bar Exam prep days, I would eat a pile of zucchini noodles with some kind of sauce on top. Now that I’m older and wiser, I prefer my zucchini noodles in conjunction with real noodles. The best part about this dish is that the strained pasta water is what “cooks” the zucchini noodles. I simply place the zucchini noodles in the colander and drain the cooked pasta right on top. Next, I dress the 50/50 zucchini noodle/spaghetti mixture with my foolproof basil pesto, stir in some white beans, and top it all with roasted tomatoes. The result? Late Summer on a plate. I hope you love this dish as much as I do!

Ingredients

  • 2 medium zucchini, spiralized into noodles

  • 12 oz. spaghetti

  • 2 cups cooked white beans (canned are ok), drained of liquid

  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano Cheese, plus extra for serving

  • 1 batch Roasted Tomatoes (recipe below)

  • 1 batch Foolproof Basil Pesto (recipe below)

  • Kosher salt

  • freshly cracked black pepper

  • Foolproof Basil Pesto

  • 2 cups basil leaves, clean and DRY

  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed

  • 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

  • 1/3 cup pine nuts

  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese

  • 3/4 tsp Kosher Salt

  • Roasted Tomatoes

  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, rinsed and dried

  • 2 tbsp olive oil

  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano

  • 1/2 tsp dried basil

  • 2 tbsp grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese

  • 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt

  • a few cranks of freshly cracked black pepper

Directions

  • Roasted Tomatoes
  • Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Toss the tomatoes with olive oil, basil, oregano, Pecorino/Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, and place on a small sheet pan. Roast until burst and lightly browned, about 45 minutes.
  • Foolproof Basil Pesto
  • While tomatoes are in oven, make pesto. Toast the pine nuts on the stove using a small skillet over medium heat, shaking pan frequently. After about 8 minutes, the pine nuts should smell nutty and have a golden exterior. Cool to room temperature. When it comes to pesto, a blender, or tall receptacle and immersion blender is ideal. Using a food processor is problematic because it creates too much surface area, which exposes basil to lots of oxygen (which then turns the pesto brown). Place the oil in blender or tall receptacle if using an immersion blender. Add the garlic and only 1/3 of your basil leaves. Cover your basil COMPLETELY with olive oil and blend (This is a vital step. It’s what prevents the basil from browning). Add another 1/3 of your basil, cover completely with oil, and blend. Repeat with remaining basil.  Add pine nuts and pulse until incorporated into basil purée. By hand, stir in grated cheese and Kosher salt.
  • To prepare the pasta:
  • Prepare spaghetti al dente, according to instructions. Place the zucchini noodles into a very large colander. Pour the pasta (and water) into the colander, right on top of the zucchini noodles, so that that zucchini noodles “cook” in the pasta water. Toss the spaghetti with zucchini noodles to distribute evenly. In the pasta pot, combine noodle/zucchini mixture with the white beans, pesto, and 1/4 cup Parmesan or Pecorino cheese. Season to taste with Kosher salt and black pepper. Divide the pasta between four plates and top with the roasted tomatoes. Serve with additional cheese, if desired.

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