Sophie's Creamy Courgette Pasta

Creamy Courgette 'Pasta'

Like most of the meals I've been cooking recently this all started with the twin sister beginning her usual moan about not being able to eat anything interesting. After serving up a fat bowl of ravioli for the grandma that was it. She wanted pasta. Pasta pasta PASTA. A big fat bowl of yellow loveliness covered in lashings of cheddar cheese. So it fell to me to create a grand 'pasta' dish that would negate the harsh reality that she was not in fact eating pasta at all. Of course nothing beats that satisfying feeling of lolling on the sofa in stodge-induced stupor, but this comes pretty close. And even better, it takes 5 minutes! So any students take note. Healthy food that's super cheap and can be whipped up during the Come Dine With Me ad break! 

Sophie's Creamy Courgette Pasta

Ingredients: (Serves 1)

• 1 1/2 courgette
• 2 handfuls of sweetcorn 
• 1 1/2 tbsp ricotta cheese (or mascarpone/ crème fraiche)
• Some form of cooked meat- I used homemade burgers (see recipe archive) 
• Salt and pepper, to season 

Method:

• The courgette 'pasta': cut the ends off the courgette and then use a peeler to peel into thin tagliatelle-esque strips. Peel until you get to the seeds then stop. 
• Bring a saucepan of water to the boil then boil the courgette strips on a fairly high heat for about 3 minutes. Add in the sweetcorn at this point too. 
• Drain the courgette and sweetcorn once cooked, then chop up the meat and spoon out the cheese and chuck everything back into the saucepan.
• Stir everything together on a low heat until the cheese has reached a thin sauce-like consistency, adding in enough salt and pepper to season as you go. This should take about 2 minutes. 
• Serve up! Top with some parmesan shavings.

Notes:

• Get creative with the cooked meat you add in. I guarantee that anything will work- try some chorizo or steak strips. 
• Add in pesto or sun dried tomato paste when stirring in the cheese for extra flavour.