Spicy Zucchini Spaghetti

I've been watching too much Iron Chef.

Upon finding a humongous orange zucchini at the farmer's market, I had this fabulous idea: use my julienne peeler and make mock linguini from the outermost layers of the fruit. Just like I saw them do on Iron Chef.

And I did it, too. Lightly blanched in salted boiling water for about a minute, the orange strands awaited my taste test. Unlike Iron Chef, however, there were no oohs and aahs from the judges; no, it tasted pretty much just like spaghetti squash, only with more bitterness from the large zucchini's tough skin.

Being the (self-proclaimed) queen of improvisation, however, I determined to make the dish more palatable. I tossed the blanched zucchini "linguine" with cooked spaghetti, and made a sauce of pancetta, olive oil, onions, garlic, dried red pepper flake and cubed zucchini.



The spaghetti blended with the zucchini "linguine" perfectly--the bitterness was balanced, and the texture was just right. The sauce was spicy, with sweetness from the almost caramelized onions and cubed zucchini. I could eat a truckload of this stuff!


Spicy Zucchini Spaghetti
serves 2

1 ounce pancetta, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small yellow onion, peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon red pepper flake (or to taste)
pinch salt (the pancetta is salty, so be careful here)
few grinds black pepper
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups cubed zucchini (avoid too many seeds)
cooked spaghetti, or a combination of cooked spaghetti and blanched zucchini "linguine"
grated parmigiana romano cheese (optional)

In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute pancetta for about 5 minutes to render fat. Add olive oil and onion; cook, stirring often, until onion is beginning to brown.

Toss in red pepper flake, salt, black pepper, garlic and cubed zucchini; continue to cook until zucchini is tender--about 10 more minutes. Toss with cooked pasta and sprinkle with cheese, if desired.



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