I’ll admit, I am not the biggest fan of zucchini so I tend to be hesitant to include it in my recipes. But this Bacon Zucchini Pasta is absolutely delicious, with smokiness from the bacon and a rich sweetness from the caramelized zucchini. It’s such an easy way to incorporate some veggies into your pasta, and a much more “adult” pasta recipe! You can also make this more vegetarian-friendly by subbing the bacon and bacon grease for extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle some basil (I got a basil plant recently and it makes me feel like a real adult) and cheese shavings of your choice and voila!
Pasta with Caramelized Zucchini and Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 lb medium shell pasta
- 2 lbs zucchini (about 3 large zucchini)
- 3-4 pieces of thick cut bacon
- 8 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup basil leaves with stems, separated
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
- 1 tbsp freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Start by coarsely grating (large holes on a box grater) all of the zucchini, smashing the garlic cloves, and slicing the bacon into small pieces. In a large cast iron skillet (12 inches), cook down the bacon over medium heat until just shy of crispy. Remove the bacon pieces and set aside, leaving the bacon fat in the skillet.
- Increase the heat just a bit to medium-high, and add the butter. Once the butter has melted and is foaming, add the grated zucchini and garlic, along with the basil stems and half the leaves. If your basil leaves are quite large, chop or tear them up into smaller pieces first. Season the zucchini with 1 1/4 tsp and a few grinds of pepper. Cover the skillet and allow the zucchini to cook for 5-7 minutes. You should see liquid pooling and bubbling in the skillet.
- Remove the lid and continue to cook for another 30-40 minutes. The water will evaporate and the zucchini will get very soft and dark, like caramelized onions. Throughout the cooking, stir occasionally and check for browning or burning. Whenever you see a buildup of browned bits of zucchini on the skillet, deglaze with a few tbsp of water and stir to scrape them up and incorporate them into the rest of the zucchini. Reduce the heat as necessary if you're getting a lot of browning or burning.
- The zucchini should ultimately get very very soft, almost like a jam. Once they're done, or shortly before, boil a large pot of salted water. Once boiling, cook the pasta until just shy of done, and then drain, saving 2 cups of pasta water.
- Before adding the pasta to the zucchini, pick through and remove the basil stems. Add the cooked pasta, 1 cup of pasta water, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and bacon bits. Stir well until the pasta is evenly coated with the sauce and the cheese has melted. Add more pasta water as necessary to thin the sauce. Stir in the lemon juice and the rest of the basil, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Garnish with more basil leaves and Parmesan, and enjoy!
- NOTE: The caramelized zucchini can be made ahead of time, just reheat on medium in a skillet while the pasta is boiling.
