Let’s Make Olive and Courgette Pasta
This 10 minute olive and courgette pasta is so quick and easy to make. This recipe is naturally vegan and can be adapted to add more veggies depending what is in season. There is minimal chopping involved to make this week night staple with just a few ingredients to make. It’s perfect when you need something delicious, comforting but without fuss in the kitchen.
What’s in this 15 minute recipe?
Olives- The easiest way to inject flavour to a pasta dish is olives. I’m using Kalamata olives but you can use whatever you have in the fridge, or your favourite flavour. They’re naturally salty and bursting with flavour to work with that pasta.
Tomato Puree- The tomato puree is a great base to the bucatini which is fried off with garlic and shallots. It helps bind the ingredients to the pasta.
Pasta- Bucatini is used in this recipe but you can use spaghetti or whatever you have in the cupboard. Be sure to save some of that pasta water to add back into the sauce, to give a glossy texture.
Courgette- There’s no better way to use courgettes in summer then in pasta recipes. They are chunky, crunchy and give a great texture against the creamy sauce and pasta.
Fresh herbs- This is a game changer for pasta, if you have fresh thyme and basil, it works perfectly in this recipe.
Cooking Tips for the Pasta:
Don’t overcook- The pasta only needs around 8-10 minutes of boiling. Add into boiling salted water, pop the lid on ad leave to bubble until al dente. Don’t forget that pasta water!
The Courgette doesn’t need long- To prevent slimy courgettes, they don’t need to fry for long in the sauce. They work best when they’ve got a bit of crunch to them so don’t overcook.
Season to perfection- The key to good pasta is to season as you go. Salt the water when boiling the pasta. Season the tomatoes and courgettes, then season before serving. Nutritional yeast is a fantastic ingredient that acts like a vegan parmesan, it has a nutty and cheesy flavour. Lather loads of nooch onto the dish before serving.
If you like this recipe why not try:
Lemon and Courgette Orzo
15 Minute Tomato Orzo
Easy Roasted Tomato Soup
10 Minute Hummus Linguine
Olive and Courgette Pasta
Ingredients
- 200 g pasta bucatini
- 1 large garlic clove finely diced
- 2 shallots finely diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp tomato puree
- 100 g pitted olives of choice
- 1 large courgette diced
- handful fresh basil and thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast sub for plant based parmesan
Instructions
- Start by getting a pot of salted water on to boil, when bubbling add the pasta and cook til al dente
- Finely chop the garlic and shallots then add to a large pan with a drizzle of olive oil, after around 4 minutes of frying add the tomato puree, loosen with a few spoonfuls of pasta water
- Roughly chop the olives and courgette then add to the pan with the tomato puree, the leaves from the fresh thyme and fry on a medium to high heat for a further 5 minutes
- Using thongs take the cooked pasta (bucatini) and add to the pot with the olives, stir through adding a few spoonfuls of the pasta water to create a delicious and glossy sauce
- Season to perfection by adding a really good portion of salt and pepper, garnish with the fresh basil leaves then lather with nutritional yeast (or plant based parmesan) and enjoy
