Pasta with Zucchini and Pesto
Submitted by: John Thorne from Northhampton, MA
Yield: Serves 2
Preparation Instructions:
Cut the zucchini in half (through the middle, not stem to stern). Slice each half into slivers about the size of a kitchen match. Toss these in a bowl with the tablespoon of salt and let this sit for thirty minutes, turning it over occasionally. Meanwhile, get a big pot of salted water heating.
When the pasta water is about to boil, place the olive oil, the minced garlic and the pinch of salt and powdered red chile into a skillet. Put this over medium heat, and cook until the garlic turns translucent.
Drain the liquid from the zucchini, spread an old but clean dish towel in the kitchen sink, and turn out the zucchini onto it. Wrap them up in the cloth and twist this as tightly as you can, extracting every possible bit of moisture.
Put the pasta into the boiling water.
Add the wrung-out zucchini to the contents in the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently but gently, until the pasta is almost ready. Scoop out 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water and add this to the zucchini. Then stir in the pesto. Remove the skillet from the heat.
Drain the pasta and divide between two plates, doling the sauce out on top. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan and lots of freshly milled black pepper.
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