Spaghetti with tomatoes, zucchini and zucchini blossoms

I think this may be the last zucchini recipe for a while, which corresponds nicely with Smitten Kitchen's feature on using up the abundance of this vegetable. A friend tended to my meagre vegetable patch while I was away for two months once, with strict instructions to pick and eat whatever he wanted. When I returned he said he had harvested one of the zucchini and still had some left in the fridge. He showed me the remnants of the most gargantuan courgette I had ever seen, easily 15 inches across and 6 inches in diameter. "What you have there", I commented to him, "is a marrow". At the farm shop on Sunday, zucchinis were free with purchase, glossy green and large. Perhaps the fact they are so prolific is their own downfall, the word glut is not appealing. So, we find ways to use them up. Quiche, fritters and pasta have been my offerings so far, others have been far more adventurous. Zucchini and chocolate cake is something I have read about, but not yet tried, but, like carrot cake and beet cake, it is an interesting concept in viewing these vegetables in a different way.

This recipe is very simple, so it requires the freshest and best ingredients to shine. That means tomatoes that are bursting with sweet and sour flavours and small, firm zucchini with the beautiful orange and yellow blossoms still attached. If you get these right, all you then need is some salt and pepper and Parmesan, of course.

Recipe : Spaghetti with zucchini, tomatoes and blossoms

Spaghetti for 2

8-10 small or 5 - 6 medium heirloom tomatoes, cut into chunks

2 tsp dried oregano

a pinch of sugar

3 small zucchinis, cut into chunks

2 zucchini blossoms, finely sliced

1/2 small zucchini, very finely sliced

salt and pepper

1 tsp butter

1/4 cup Parmesan

Heat a pan over medium heat and add the tomatoes, sugar and dried oregano. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover. Let the tomatoes cook gently for about 30 minutes until they collapse and become sauce like. Add the zucchini, salt and pepper and increase the heat to medium. Uncover the pan and cook, stirring very often to allow some of the tomato juice to evaporate until you have a thickish sauce. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning if you want to. Reduce the heat to low again and keep warm while you cook the spaghetti in a large pan of boiling, salted water until al dente.

Drain your pasta, reserving about 1 tbsp of the cooking water and return to the pan. Place over a low - medium heat, add the butter and then the tomato and zucchini sauce. Stir everything together well until the pasta and sauce is piping hot and the butter melted into everything to become silky and creamy. 

Serve, first scattering the blossoms and thinly sliced raw zucchini over the top and then sprinkling with the Parmesan. Season with freshly ground black pepper and enjoy.

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