Description
Fregola Sarda Pasta with Corn, Zucchini and Basil, sprinkled with pecorino. A fast and easy Italian-inspired meal that comes together in 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Fregola pasta ( 1 1/2 cups dry)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large shallot, diced
- 2 medium zucchini ( 3–4 cups diced)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 garlic cloves, rough chopped
- pinch chili flakes (or Aleppo chili flakes)
- 1 ear corn (2 cups, or use frozen, or frozen roasted ) see notes
- 1/3 cup pecorino cheese
- 15–20 basil leaves
- zest of one lemon
- Optional: 1/4 cup ricotta for extra creaminess
Instructions
Cook fregola pasta in 8 cups water with 1 tablespoon salt according to directions on the package, cook until al dente and save a cup of hot pasta water.
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and zucchini and season with salt, and saute until the zucchini is translucent about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, pepper and chili flakes and cook a few more minutes, until the garlic is fragrant. Add the corn, and continue sauteeing, until the corn is tender, but still a little snappy, about 5-6 minutes.
Add the cooked fregola pasta to the zucchini-corn mixture, drizzle with another tablespoon of olive oil, stir in the pecorino, basil and lemon zest. Add 1/4-1/2 cup pasta water to loosen, and more if you prefer it more “saucy”.
Taste, season with more salt, or chili flakes if you like. If it tastes bland, it needs salt.
Garnish with fresh basil and a sprinkling of pecorino.
For extra richness, stir in a little ricotta. See notes.
Notes
The pecorino makes this dish.
Feel free to char the corn (on a gas stove or grill) before cutting the kernels off.
This is a drier-style pasta dish just lightly coated in olive oil (kind of like couscous). For extra creaminess or a more saucy consistency, add more pasta water and stir in the ricotta.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ¼ cup
- Calories: 349
- Sugar: 6.6 g
- Sodium: 385 mg
- Fat: 10.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 54.7 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 11.9 g
- Cholesterol: 5.5 mg