Name: Basil pesto zucchini noodles
Prep time: 40 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Cooking Method
Ingredients: 4 courgettes sliced lengthways; salt to taste; 6 bacon streaky, rashers; 125 ml spring onions chopped into 2cm pieces; 500 ml broccoli cut into florets; 45 ml pesto basil; parmesan cheese or pecorino cheese, grated, to garnish

Recipe Disclaimer

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Ingredients (7)

4	courgettes — sliced lengthways
	salt — to taste
6	bacon — streaky, rashers
125 ml	spring onions — chopped into 2cm pieces
500 ml	broccoli — cut into florets
45 ml	pesto — basil
	parmesan cheese — or pecorino cheese, grated, to garnish

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Method:

The first step is also one of the most important when cooking with zucchinis, and that is extracting the moisture from them.

Place the thinly sliced zucchinis into a bowl and sprinkle liberally with salt. Toss the zucchini pieces so as to coat them as much as possible in the salt. This will draw out the moisture hiding inside. Allow to sit for 15 minutes and then wipe off the salt, squeezing the pieces to extract as much moisture as possible.

While the zucchinis sit for 15 minutes, fry the bacon over medium heat until crisp, turning frequently. Take the bacon out of the pan once crispy and place onto kitchen paper to dry. Crumble the bacon. Remove all but 30 ml (2 Tbsp) of the residual bacon fat from the pan.

Put the pan back onto medium heat. Add the spring onions and broccoli, stirring frequently for 3–5 minutes or until crispy and tender. Add the zucchinis and 30 ml (2 Tbsp) of the pesto, tossing to combine all the ingredients. Taste and add more pesto if needed (I usually do!). The mixture needs 2–3 minutes of cooking in order to warm up.

Garnish with bacon crumbles and freshly grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese and serve.

Serves 4.

This recipe is an extract from Jump on The Bant Wagon cookbook by Nick Charlie Key.

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