Braised Zucchini, Silverbeet & Green Olive Pasta

Delicious, healthy & effortless. The Perfect recipe for those midweek meals & make ahead meal prep.

This pasta dishes has become a staple. As it is, it’s a delicious vegan pasta and i’ve included with plenty of ways I pimp it up (more about that below).

As an everyday recipe platform, this recipe is just that. perfect for affordable, nourishing & versatile dinners with plenty of ways you can add to this dish with cheeses & added proteins to mix things up as you keep coming back to the recipe.

Plus this is an LOA dish (Left Over Approved), so next day lunch or dinner is ready to go! I sometimes even make double then pimp the leftovers up by making into a cheesy pasta bake the next night! as for lunch, I don’t mind this straight from the fridge for a cold pasta salad as well.

Make sure you do your Mis en place - Mis en place a fancy French term that roughly translates to ‘everything in its place’ - this means the prep you do in advance of beginning to cook so everything goes smoothly. So for example, in this recipe it is the instruction next to the listed ingredients - ‘zucchini, split, thickly sliced’ - thats the mis en place. Then when you begin the method, its all ready to go. SO reading a recipe, look for this and get that mis en place done first for a much more enjoyable and flowing cook.

Greens - the combination of braised zucchini & Silverbeet is one of my favourites but feel free to mix it up with kale, Cavolo Nero, broccoli or beans are all delicious cooked this way into a pasta dish.

Have you checked out my masterclass on big pot braised greens in my More Veg masterclass series -

Masterclass 11: Big Pot Braised Greens

Pasta - If gluten free, then swap in a GF pasta easily. Also swap in another pasta shape. short or long, they will all work. As well if pasta isn’t your thing, add 1 cup of raw rice to the dish with 1.5 cups of vegetable stock then cover and let it simmer until the rice is cooked and you have delicious one pot dish.

Green Olives - swap in a kalamat olive if thats what you have or like. Also if no olives is you jam, then capers are an amazing substitution.

Additions

Sausage - adding in some torn sausages - pork, lamb, beef or chicken (2-3) to the recipe at the beginning will give you an amazing pasta dish.

Anchovies - add afew chopped anchovies with the onion at the beginning for a delicious umami kick.

Chicken - diced chicken thigh, browned off at the beginning and cooked with everything will give the perfect protein hit.

Legumes - a great added protein for plant based is to add some cooked, tinned chickpeas or butterbeans to the dish

Cheeses - some ricotta or cottage cheese stirred through right at the end is amazing.

Pasta bake - I love to take this finished dish - hot or cold, pile it into a baking dish then scatter over some grated mozzarella, cheddar and Parmesan and bake until golden!

Braised Zucchini, Silverbeet & Green Olive Pasta

serves 4

ingredients

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 brown onion, thinly sliced

3 clove garlic, roughly chopped

2 zucchini, split lengthways, thickly sliced

1/2 bunch silverbeet leaves, roughly chopped

salt, pepper

zest 1 lemon

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cup pitted green olives

pinch dried chili flakes

400g Fusilli (spiral) pasta

handful flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

juice 1 lemon

splash extra virgin olive oil, to serve

Method

Place a large pot of water on to boil.

Meanwhile, place a large frying pan over a medium high heat. add the olive oil, onion, garlic and pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often for 3 minutes then add the zucchini and continue to cook for 5 minutes or so, stirring often until it begins to soften. You can cover the pan during this time to help this process.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for 9 minutes. reservinf 1/2 cup cooking water in a jug or glass.

Add the silverbeet, lemon zest, tomatoes and olives and dried chili, continuing to cook for another 5-7 minutes to break the silverbeet down and get all the flavours mingling. turn off the heat if this is ready before the pasta

Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water and add to the braised vegetables, now back on the heat. Add the lemon juice, to taste, the parsley and a little cooking water to create a loose, well coated pasta. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Finish with a splash of extra virgin olive oil stirred through before serving or when on plates.