When I saw a recipe from Le Ricette di Baccos with a zucchini ‘pesto’, I thought it would be great with fresh homemade tagliolini. This is a great summer recipe that requires minimal cooking, as the zucchini are raw and the fresh tagliolini only need about a minute to cook. This turned out very nice, grazie Marina!

As you may notice from the photos, this is not something I whipped up in the RV — I did not bring a blender — but a recipe I prepared and photographed before we left for Italy. I am however typing this in the RV, while Kees is waking up and we are camping beside beautiful Lake Predil on the border with Slovenia.

Ingredients

For 2 servings

1 large zucchini or 2 small ones, about 400 grams (.9 lb), ends removed and roughly chopped

20 grams (2 Tbsp) toasted pistachios

1/2 tsp salt

4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

10 basil leaves

10 mint leaves

30 grams (1 oz) freshly grated parmigiano reggiano, plus more for serving

225 grams (.5 lb) fresh tagliolini, made from 75 grams Italian 00 flour, 75 grams semolina flour, and 75 grams eggs

Preparation

Combine zucchini, pistachios, basil, mint, and salt in the food processor.

Process until finely ground, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary.

Add about 4 Tbsp of olive oil, or as much as needed to get a nice creamy consistency…

nd process until you get that consistency.

Add 30 grams (a nice handful) of freshly grated parmigiano reggiano…

…and process briefly to incorporate.

Make fresh tagliolini.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt and the tagliolini.

Cook them briefly to keep them al dente, about one minute depending on the thickness.

Turn off the heat and drain the tagliolini, reserving a bit of the cooking water. Return the tagliolini to the hot pan (off the heat) to keep them warm.

Add the pesto.

Add a few tablespoons of the cooking water, just enough to get a creamy consistency.

Stir to mix

Serve on preheated plates, sprinkled with some more parmigiano.

Flashback

Alla Pizzaiola indicates something like “pizza style” and is not a clearly defined term in Italian cooking. The basic recipe for Carne alla Pizzaiola is thin slices of meat (usually beef, but it can be prepared with other types of meat as well) cooked in a simple tomato sauce. To the tomato sauce you can add ‘pizza style’ ingredients like oregano, olives, capers, etc. It is a simple dish with a lot of flavor that in Italy is often served as piatto unico with mashed or roasted potatoes.