Creamy Zucchini & Mortadella

I love how creative you can get with pasta. I have been dying to make a pasta recipe with mortadella. I thought something creamy would pair nicely and adding the zucchini was also a nice touch of color and flavor. Sautéing the mortadella first gives it such a nice crispy outside. If you’re feeling frisky, garnish with some toasted pistachios to compliment the mortadella.

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups zucchini, finely chopped

  • 2 cups (about ½ pound) mortadella, cut into cubes

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 1 egg yolk

  • 1 cup freshly grated pecorino cheese, plus another cup for extra

  • 1 teaspoon freshly grated blacked pepper

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 12 oz. of casarecce pasta

  • 1 heavy whipping cup cream, room temperature 

Instructions:

  1. Start boiling water for the pasta. *Cook pasta a couple minutes shorter to keep it a little undercooked.

  2. In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium. Once hot, add the mortadella. Cook, stirring occasionally until they begin to brown. Then scoop out of the pan into a small bowl, cover to keep warm and set aside.

  3. Leave the leftover oil in the pan and add the zucchini. Cook over medium to medium -low heat until the zucchini gets tender. As it cooks, it’s okay to smash it up a bit. If the pan gets too dry, add a drizzle of oil.

  4. While the zucchini cooks, mix together your cream sauce. In a medium sized mixing bowl add: 1 cup of pecorino, 1 cup of cream, 1 egg yolk, teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of freshly cracked black pepper. Use a fork to beat lightly until combined. Set aside.

  5. Once the zucchini is very tender, turn off the heat and slowly stir in the cream mixture. Once it is mixed in, slowly bring the heat back on keeping it on low. Add the pasta into the mix and finish cooking the pasta in the sauce while constantly tossing to thicken the cream sauce. You may add another ½ cup of cheese to toss in.

  6. Once the sauce has thickened and pasta is al dente remove from heat and serve immediately with extra pecorino cheese to garnish.

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PastaDanielle SimoneComment