Zucchini Mushroom Pasta

I had some veggies that needed to be cooked and I really wanted to have some pasta. So I decided to use them to make a creamy pasta sauce!

I chopped up onions, garlic and mushrooms. I then grated one yellow zucchini. I had a started a pot of water for the pasta. I selected cavatappi as the noodle. It’s one of my favorites and I think that it is great to absorb and hold creamy sauces! In a large pan, I heated EVOO and then sautéed the onions and garlic with salt, pepper, parsley and red pepper flakes. I then added the mushrooms and zucchini and seasoned with more pepper and some Italian seasoning. Once the zucchini and mushrooms began to soften, I added some heavy cream and some grated parmesan (again we do not measure cheese).

I allowed the sauce to simmer, combine and thicken. I then took an immersion blender to blend the veggies more into the sauce. I allowed it to continue to simmer and tasted it to see if there was any other seasonings needed. I decided just more cheese was needed. When the water was ready, I dropped the cavatappi and cooked until al dente. I allowed the sauce to simmer more and took the blender to it again to help smooth it out a bit. The veggies were still in smaller chunks, but I liked the texture it gave the sauce. When the pasta was ready I dropped it immediately in the sauce and turned off the heat. I stirred and combined until the sauce was completely coated. I allowed the pasta to sit a bit and absorb the sauce. I served this with some chipotle seasoned chicken and it was the perfect combination.

It was delicious and a great comfort food meal. But it does have me thinking now I want to try and incorporate other veggies into my pasta sauces! Let me know if you have ideas.

Live to Eat,
Tiv