Cook and Drink

How about a delicious, vegetarian starter, one that is easy to make and requires only a handful of ingredients? It combines orecchiette, zucchini (courgette), parsley, olive oil, Parmesan cheese and black pepper.
Parsley is often used, as decoration, to add a touch of green to a dish. Which is such a pity, because parsley is not just a bit of green: it’s a delicate herb. In this dish it’s crucial: you will taste its slight bitterness and its peppery notes. At the same time, it enhances the flavour of the zucchini and it brings everything together. 
Pasta-wise we think orecchiette is perfect for this dish. The ‘ears’ allow you to taste everything in the dish, with every bite.

Wine Pairing

We suggest a white wine with the orecchiette with zucchini and parsley, for instance from the Lazio region in Italy. In general a light, refreshing wine with hints of green apple and citrus.
We enjoyed a glass of Prima Luna Frascati. This is a white wine made by Mauro Merz with malvasia bianca di candia and trebbiano grapes. Its freshness matched very well with the various flavours of the dish and, obviously, with the parsley!

What You Need

• Zucchini
• Flat Leave Parsley
• Orecchiette
• Olive oil
• Parmesan cheese
• Black Pepper

What You Do

1. Wash the zucchini. Don’t peel. Chop (think of the size of the orecchiette)
2. Chop the parsley
3. Grate Parmesan cheese
4. Heat a skillet, add olive oil and gently warm the zucchini; no colouring needed
5. In parallel cook the orecchiette accoding to the instruction
6. A few minutes before the orecchiette is ready, add half of the parsley to the zucchini, combine
7. When the orecchiette is al dente, drain but keep some of the cooking liquid
8. Add the orecchiette to the pan with zucchini and parsley
9. Add some black pepper and combine
10. Check if you’re happy with the result, feel free to add cooking liquid, olive oil and/or black pepper
11. Serve on hot plates, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese