Pasta with courgette, lemon and feta

This pasta is an easy peasy, healthy and beautiful meal, which you can cook in less than half an hour and enjoy for lunch or dinner. I love zucchine (or courgettes, as they are called in the UK) – they are a wonderful and versatile veg. In fact, I love them so much that I tried, unsuccessfully, to grow my own. Unfortunately, it turns out that my poor wee north facing Scottish garden did not really provide the most thriving environment. 

When it comes to Italian cuisine, less is always more.

I am also a lover of simple and easy things, especially when it comes to cooking. I think that choosing a few, great ingredients, can really make for a cheap, healthy and excellent meal. For this pasta recipe you only need pasta, courgette, feta, garlic, lemon and olive oil. That’s it! I can guarantee you that it will become a staple in your household favourite meals.

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Since we are going to zest a whole lemon for this recipe, I would suggest that you use a really good grater – we have a microplane and we absolutely love it. It probably is one of our most used kitchen tools. Also, get an organic unwaxed lemon, if possible, since you will be using the peel.

I have used fusilli for this recipe, but feel free to swap for spaghetti, if you prefer, or any other pasta shape. Check out this post if you want a refresh on how to properly cook your pasta.

Cute Fun Fact

This was the first meal I cooked for my husband when we first started dating (you know, those first few months when you are madly in love but still very awkward? The ones where you put makeup on before he wakes up and pretend that you never actually go to the toilet. Ah, the struggles of falling in love!). Also, at the time I was still a student and I was permanently skint (can anyone relate to that ??), so I ate a lot of pasta (cheap) and mainly veggies (cheap, cheerful and with the added bonus of being good for you). This recipe was definitely on a weekly rotation. When I served my (future) husband this fragrant plate of pasta, he initially eyed it a bit suspiciously – where was the sauce?? But after his first mouthful, two things happened simultaneously that changed his life:

1) he decided he was going to marry me (although it took a wee while before he actually voiced this decision to me);

2) he decided he was going to learn how to cook (he had, since moving out from his parents, survived on a diet of baked beans and bacon, with the occasional addition of cheese on toast).

So, if you are looking to take your relationship to the next level, and/or you want to rescue your partner from poor dietary choices, please do give this recipe a go. I promise that you won’t be disappointed.