Oh, Mr. Sun, please shine down on me!!!

It's been a while since I posted a pasta dish here, and yet it's the most frequently cooked food in my home.
I was actually debating with myself what to post today, a gorgeous Kefir bread or incredible Cinnamon, apple and caramel buns I made yesterday, but in the end decided those are going to wait a few days, and chose something from my "unpublished archive". Something simple to share with my readers, as I'm not in a particularly good mood this morning.
Just looking out of the window makes me shiver with cold, and thinking that spring is a thousand light years far, brrrrrrr, I'd rather go back to bed.
Since I have some zucchini in my fridge and the basil on my balcony is still not completely dead, I thought I might make this pasta again for lunch today, and enjoy something warm and cozy without turning the heating on. Dinner, instead, is screaming for a bowl of hot, steaming soup.
It seems, also, that these days I've been seeking lots of comfort in colours, first an orange soup, and now some typically springish green. Well, I guess there isn't much else to do.

Pipe rigate and Parmigiano Reggiano


Zucchini Pasta au gratin


(4 servings):
350g pasta (e.g. pipe rigate)
600g zucchini
200 g fresh, creamy cheese (robiola, ricotta or similar)
3 shallots
40 g grated pecorino or Parmigiano cheese
a bunch of fresh basil
Extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper

Wash and dry the zucchini. Cut off the ends and half each zucchini lengthwise first, and then slice thinly each half.
Clean and wash the shallots, slice the white parts and sauté in a deep skillet with 4 TBspoons of EVOO.
Add the sliced zucchini, salt and pepper to taste, and sauté on high, stirring, for about 7-8 minutes.
Remore from heat and purè 2/3 of the zucchini using an immersion blender, with the addition of basil leaves and 1 TBspoon of EVOO.
In a mixing bowl, mix together the remaining 1/3 of the sautéed zucchini, the zucchini basil purè, the fresh and half of the grated cheese. Mix well to combine them.
In the meantime, bring to boil a large pot of water, add salt and cook the pasta, but only half way through (depending on the pasta you use, if the cooking time indicated on the package is e.g. 12 minutes, cook it only 6-7 minutes from the moment the water starts boiling again). Drain the pasta and mix it with the zucchini and cheese mixture.


Put the pasta in a big enough baking dish or 4 individual dishes, sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese and bake in an oven preheated to 180°C, for about 30 minutes - until it's nicely golden in surface, turning the grill on for the last 10 minutes.

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Pipe al forno con zucchine e robiola


(per 4 persone)
350 g di pipe rigate (o altra pasta)
600 g di zucchine
200 g di robiola
3 cipollotti
40 g di pecorino o parmigiano grattugiato
un mazzetto di basilico fresco
olio extravergine di oliva
sale, pepe


Lavate, asciugate e mondate le zucchine. Tagliatele a metà nel senso di lunghezza e poi affettate sottilmente.
Pulite e lavate i cipollotti. Tagliate sottilmente la parte bianca e soffriggeteli in una padella con 4 cucchiai di olio EVO.
Unite le zucchine, salate e pepate a piacere, e soffriggete tutto insieme a fuoco alto, mescolando per 7-8 minuti.
Frullate 2/3 di zucchine con le foglie di basilico e 1 cucchiaio di olio EVO fino a rendere tutto cremoso.
Unite in una terrina le zucchine frullate con quelle rimaste intere, robiola e metà del formaggio grattugiato.
Cuocete la pasta nell’abbondante acqua salata, scolatela quando è cotta a metà e mescolatela alle zucchine e formaggio.
Versate tutto in una pirofila unta con un po' di olio, cospargete con il formaggio grattugiato rimasto e infornate a 180°C per circa 30 minuti, accendendo il grill per ultimi 10 minuti se vi piace la crosticina, bella dorata in superficie.

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Zapečena tjestenina s tikvicama i sirom

(za 4 osobe):

 350 g tjestenine (npr. pipe rigate)
600 g tikvica
200 g svježeg kremastog sira (robiola, ricotta i sl.)
3 mlada luka
40 g naribanog pecorina ili parmezana
svežnjić svježeg bosiljka
maslinovo ulje
sol, papar


Operite tikvice i odrežite im vrhove. Narežite ih na tanke kolutiće ili prvo prepolovite po dužini pa onda narežite.
Očistite mladi luk, narežite bijeli dio i popržite ga u tavi s 4 žlice maslinovog ulja. Dodajte tikvice, posolite, popaprite i dinstajte na srednje jakoj vatri 7-8 minuta.
Štapnim mikserom smrvite 2/3 tikvica s listićima bosiljka i 1 žlicom maslinovog ulja.
Pomiješajte kremu od tikvica i bosiljka s preostalim tikvicama, polovicom naribanog sira i svježim sirom pa nježno izmiješajte da dobijete glatku kremu.
Skuhajte tjesteninu u ključaloj slanoj vodi, ali samo do pola. Ocijedite je, pomiješajte s pripremljenom kremom od sira i tikvica, pa stavite u malo nauljenu posudu za pečenje. Pospite preostalim naribanim sirom. Zapecite oko 30 minuta u pećnici zagrijanoj na 180°C (zadnjih deset minuta uključite gril) ili dok lagano ne porumeni na površini. Ostavite da odmori par minuta prije posluživanja.