I have this little problem. I love magazines. I love to go to the mailbox every day and hope that a new magazine have arrived. When there are new issues, I get giddy. I wait for a few minutes of peace and quiet (which is rare in this house) and sit on the couch and flip through my new magazines and read about all of the new things that we are going to make. If I am really lucky, my husband rubs my feet too. I dog ear the things that I want to make. Then after the magazines start to pile up, I rip out what I was excited about making and stick them into a giant file folder that just seems to grow and grow. I love to look at the pictures and get inspiration. From new flavors, to plates and pots and pans, to linens. Magazines make me happy.
I got this recipe from Cooking Light. It sounded so good that I knew that I had to make it and make it soon. I was not disappointed. I do not eat a lot of pasta, but this was well worth the splurge. What is Pistou you ask? I didn’t know either. Turns out that it is French pesto. Bon Appetit!
4 teaspoons olive oil
2 1/2 cups sliced zucchini
1 cup packed basil leaves
1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons toasted pine nuts
4 chopped garlic cloves
2 cups chopped Vidalia (or other sweet onion)
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
8 ounces penne pasta
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the zucchini and cook until tender and golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cool.
Put 1/4 cup of the cooked zucchini, basil, 1/4 cup cheese, pine nuts and garlic in the food processor.
Add the rest of the olive oil to the pan and add the onions. Cook for 10 minutes until the onions are brown. Cook the pasta in 6 quart of salted water. Reserve 1/3 cup cooking liquid to add to the processed zucchini mixture. Add the cooking liquid to the food processor and pulse until smooth.
Add the zucchini back to the pan with the pasta and the processed zucchini mixture. Add the heavy cream and salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes until everything is heated through, maybe 22 minutes. Taste for seasonings.
Pour the pasta into a big bowl and garnish with some basil leaves, pine nuts, and cheese.
Pour yourself a big glass of wine and if you are really inspired make a salad and call it dinner.
Ingredients
- 4 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 1/2 cups sliced zucchini
- 1 cup packed basil leaves
- 1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
- 2 Tablespoons toasted pine nuts
- 4 chopped garlic cloves
- 2 cups chopped Vidalia (or other sweet onion)
- 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
- 8 ounces penne pasta
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the zucchini and cook until tender and golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cool.
- Put 1/4 cup of the cooked zucchini, basil, 1/4 cup cheese, pine nuts and garlic in the food processor.
- Add the rest of the olive oil to the pan and add the onions. Cook for 10 minutes until the onions are brown. Cook the pasta in 6 quart of salted water. Reserve 1/3 cup cooking liquid to add to the processed zucchini mixture. Add the cooking liquid to the food processor and pulse until smooth.
- Add the zucchini back to the pan with the pasta and the processed zucchini mixture. Add the heavy cream and salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes until everything is heated through, maybe 22 minutes. Taste for seasonings.
- Pour the pasta into a big bowl and garnish with some basil leaves, pine nuts, and cheese.
Goodness Bree that looks delicious. As a frenchie I think I’ll have to give it a try sometime soon? Fabulous blog btw!!!)
Thank you Sarah!
Yes, I will take this for dinner tonight. Actually it would be a lovely mid-morning snack right now. The pine nut & parm combo look incredible!
I love the post-processing in these photos, especially the roundup of ingredients photo. This pasta dish looks absolutely divine. I love the Cooking Light magazine.
I’m really enjoying your blog. The photos are excellent! Definitely a feast for the eyes.
It was absolutely scrumptious! I could have done without the heavy cream, or just used 2% milk, but it was still delicious. I made it for dinner tonight and both my mom and dad loved it too.
glad that you liked it!
This sounds like a great way to enjoy some zucchini!
It was delicious.
I can absolutely relate to your love for magazines. I subscribe to WAY too many and I rarely finish reading each month’s issue before a new comes. Dont care tho-I absolutely love magazines
This recipe looks awesome, I dont remember seeing it in my cooking light but I can’t wait to try it!
Okay, Bree. Alejandro keeps talking about your blog. Now I’m hooked. I love pastas and this one looks really good and it’s from Cooking Light which is even better. I used to subscribe to that magazine and many other ones like you. The photography is beautiful.
Thank you for checking me out. I hope that you keep reading.
Another great zucchini recipe!!
This looks sooo yummy and we are drowning in zucchini from the garden
Any way to make this without a food processor? Or could I use a blender?
I think that a blender would be fine. Or you could just skip that step all together.
mmm, i think i’m going to make this tomorrow! thank you for the recipe, and the always-jaw-dropping images. xo!
thank you Stacey!
This sounds so good can’t wait to make it..I adore Cooking light magazine..
that was a delicious dinner. I really need to make that again soon.
A really late reply (compared to when you posted this recipe) but I made this with a friend of mine and it was amazing. We used demi-creme fraiche instead of the cream (forgot to buy cream, had the creme fraiche lying around) which might have been even better than the original (we didn’t even bother to try the cream one because it was perfect the way we made it)! Thank you for sharing! I’ll be cooking this for my dads birthday (a tradition of making him a nice dinner for his birthday as opposed to stuff he doesn’t want/need/use anyway) and I think he’ll love it just as much!
Creme fraiche would be divine in this, what a great idea! happy Birthday to your dad.
This is really funny, because I wanted to leave a comment and then read the last comment, which is from a friend of mine.
Anyway, I just love this recipe. I introduced it to her and yesterday, I made it for my mom. It’s so fresh and healthy! I have some leftovers from yesterday, so I know what’s for dinner tonight…
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what a small world! Glad that you like this recipe so much.