Zucchini and Hot Sausage Pasta

You know when you have a moment of clarity and this huge light bulb goes off?

That is the very feeling I had when I knew to combine freshly picked zucchini from the garden (my backyard) and spicy hot sausage from the local butcher. My mouth instantly started watering and usually that’s a good sign it’s going to be a good dish.

Let’s get right to it!

Ingredients:

3 medium sized zucchinis diced 

4 cloves of chopped garlic

4 tablespoons of olive oil for zucchini and 2 tablespoons of olive oil for sausage

Salt and pepper for seasoning

1 link of sausage- take apart and crumble by hand 

½ cup of pecorino cheese to add in pasta and have some to add on top of pasta (you can never have enough cheese)

Instructions:

Use a medium saucepan. Add oil, warm up then add chopped garlic. Let it simmer and cook when it’s golden, add the diced zucchini and add salt and pepper. Cook on medium and bring it to a simmer and let it cook till the zucchini is thoroughly cooked through.

While the zucchini is cooking, get the sausage and in this case the local butcher already has the sausage wrapped in casing, so you just take the casing off and chop the raw sausage into little bits, we’re looking for a small crumbling sausage to add to the pasta.

Then place the crumbled sausage in a small pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and let it cook through. Set it aside.

Make about ½ pound of pasta- regular or gluten free, whatever your choice. Prepare how you like it- preferably boil water, add salt and throw in pasta. Make sure it’s al dente (chef’s kiss)

Once the pasta is done, pour it into a strainer and don’t forget to get a small cupful of pasta water to keep to the side and use as needed.

Put the pasta back in the pot and first thing’s first, add about ½ cup of pecorino cheese, see how the cheese melts in the pasta and take about a tablespoon of pasta water and see how the pasta cheese begins to emulsify. You may need more pasta water, so take note. Then add the zucchini mixture and top it off with the hot and spicy crumbled sausage. 

Add a dash of more pecorino and I think you’ll know what to do next.

This is a very easy and simple summer dish that will not only be liked by everyone but will certainly be asking for the recipe. So, beware. And there are no such thing as leftovers with this dish.

Let me know how you like this yummy and delicious concoction! Please leave a comment below and don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @oohahhyum.