Fresh vegetables

I went to Onestsa for dinner last week and enjoyed a lovely meal outside on the patio with some friends. The braised rabbit pasta was delicious, and I can’t get enough of the chocolate budino. It is my favourite dessert. My girlfriend ordered a side of rapini and I have to say that it was the best rapini I have ever eaten. The last few times I ordered rapini elsewhere it was quite unpleasant. Tough, chewy, and stringy. Definitely not cooked enough. I think it’s because it’s being served in long whole pieces. His rapini was cooked until very tender and chopped up fine and cooked with garlic, chilis and olive oil. Exactly the way we have been cooking our greens at home since our recent trip to Italy. Of course, I bought some rapini the next day to cook at home, but decided to turn it into a vegetarian pasta. I picked up some yellow zucchini, spinach, and basil from Laundry Farm and put it together quite quickly. My garlic from last summer is still in pristine shape and despite the huge quantity of it we use at home, the garlic easily lasts until the next batch is ready. I thought a short noodle like a shell pasta would be good, but my son wanted spaghetti and we all love spaghetti.

Spaghetti with rapini and zucchini
1 bunch rapini, thick ends trimmed

400g spaghetti

3 small yellow zucchini, diced small

1/4 cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon dry chili flakes

2 large handfuls spinach, coarsely sliced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons cold butter

1 cup freshly grated parmesan

1 cup basil, sliced

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add rapini to water and blanch for 4-6 minutes until rapini is very tender. Drain and refresh with cold water. Chop the rapini into small pieces. Bring another pot of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti according to package directions. Heat oil in a large pan; add zucchini and cook, stirring occasionally until it starts to soften. Add garlic and chili flakes and keep cooking and stirring. Add spinach and rapini and season with salt and pepper.When pasta is cooked, reserve 1 -1 1/2 cups of pasta water and then drain. Add 1 cup of reserved water to the pan, bring to a boil and stir in cold butter. Stir in ¾ of parmesan, basil, and add spaghetti. Toss spaghetti in sauce to mix well with vegetables. Add more water if needed. Serve with remaining cheese and finish with a drizzle of olive oil and black pepper. Top with more basil if desired.

Makes 4-6 servings.