Last night was such a rainy, stormy night here in Newcastle. We aren't used to these wicked storms that end a humid day, because these are totally non-existent in Adelaide.
Anyway, last night was stormy, really stormy. We are still living with my parents until our new home in Newcastle is ready (just a few more days), and the whole house hold felt like spaghetti - maybe it was the weather? For Nigel this was a given as this is his 'night before a game' ritual, and he has plenty of bolognese sauce frozen ready to go. But I seriously cannot stomach the stuff after almost 11 years. So, we needed an alternative.
Don't you just love when you do a big shop at the start of the week and you still have some beautiful fresh veggies left at the end? Well, we had some asparagus, zucchini, mushrooms and parsley. I had also been given a whole bag of lemons from the Fruit Brothers (in Hamilton) for our stand at the Oyster Festival last week end (did you catch our pics on Facebook and on Instagram)?
Anyway, back to what I came up with. This vegetarian spaghetti dish was a winner and it took 15 minuets to make!
This is a totally authentic quick snap (with poor lighting and styling) with my iPhone - no studio photography seen here...
Ingredients (serves 4)
250g dried spaghetti
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil + extra for drizzling
7 (100g) button mushrooms, thickly sliced (leave skin on)
1 bunch (120g) asparagus, woody ends removed and chopped into 3cm pieces
1/4 cup of pine nuts
1 large (250g) zucchini, use the vegetable peel to make zucchini strips
1 bunch of parsley, leaves removed and finely chopped
1 long red chilli, seeds removed and thinly sliced (leave seeds if you like it hot)
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Shaved parmesan and cracked pepper for serving
Method
Put spaghetti on to boil.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan over a medium to high heat and cook mushrooms on each side for about 2 minutes, or until golden and cooked through, then set aside. - Intentionally cooking the mushrooms on each side versus stirring them around the pan will help them turn nice and brown/golden and prevent them from becoming watery. This will give a nice taste and texture for the pasta.
Wipe the frying pan out then with approximately 1-2 minutes until the spaghetti is ready heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive over a medium to high heat, add the asparagus and pine nuts and cook for approximately 1 minute.
Drain the spaghetti (reserving some water from the saucepan).
Add the zucchini strips, parsley, chilli and mushrooms to the frying pan and stir, heating through for approximately 30 seconds.
Add the lemon zest and juice, spaghetti and reserved water and stir through for another 30 seconds or until heated through.
Serve in bowls with shaved parmesan, cracked pepper and an extra drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
I promise this is the perfect Friday night spaghetti dish - ENJOY!!!