Recipe and picture courtesy of The Good Food Channel
Ingredients
• 500 g courgettes, trimmed
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 250 g pasta, penne or rigatoni
• 250 g balls of buffalo mozzarella
• 2 tbsp double cream
• parmesan, freshly grated
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5, and lightly butter a 1.5 litre oven dish.
2. Cut the courgettes into 3mm thick slices, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the courgette. Once sizzling nicely, but before they start to brown, turn the heat down and season with a little salt to draw out the moisture.
3. Continue to cook the courgette gently for up to 30 minutes, until they’re soft to the point of mushiness, making sure to stir often and break them down a little with a spatula or wooden spoon. Add the garlic when you think they are almost done. You should end up with a fragrant, garlicky, rough courgette purée.
4. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil, salt it well and add the pasta. Cook for a minute or two less than the minimum time suggested on the packet, so it is marginally underdone.
5. Drain the pasta well. Add the courgettes and stir to combine. Tear up the mozzarella with your hands and add it to the pasta, along with the cream. Season with salt and pepper and stir.
6. Transfer to the prepared oven dish and top with a generous grating of parmesan or other hard cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until piping hot and golden brown on top. Serve straight away.