A 35 minute creamy vegetarian pasta recipe that will leave you wanting more. Simple ingredients, simple dish, tastes amazing, what more could you want?
And I guarantee you, once you make this sour cream sauce, you’ll want to make it over and over again. And it just works so well with the fusilli because the sauce just sinks into those spirals.
Making the Creamy Pasta Sauce
So, instead of cream, we’re going to use sour cream. And as much as I love cream in certain recipes, I do think it can be a bit cheap if you rely on it all the time. And the combination of sour cream and stock gives such a wonderful base of flavour for the pasta.
So first, we need to whisk the sour cream, the stock, black pepper and the cornflour together.
I like to add the cornflour because it just ensures that the stock and the sour cream binds together, and it allows the sauce to thicken a bit quicker.
Once you’ve whisked the ingredients together, bring the sauce to a boil, then turn the heat down low and simmer for 10 minutes.
Turn the heat off, add your freshly grated parmesan, then stir it through. The parmesan will both season, and slightly thicken the sauce.
Now, I believe it’s important to get fresh parmesan and grate it yourself, rather than using the pre-grated parmesan. As the fresh parmesan seems to melt through and combine in the sauce much more effectively.
Once the sauce is done, test taste it, and add more parmesan if need be.
How to Prepare the Spinach
First I would just like to mention, that when it comes to using spinach to mix through a pasta dish. I recommend that you avoid baby spinach and use regular spinach. Not that baby spinach can’t work, and it isn’t a big deal if you use baby spinach, but when it wilts, it doesn’t mix through as nicely and it’s harder to work with.
Baby spinach is much better served raw for salad dishes in my experience.
Now, first, make sure the spinach is washed, cut away the stalks, then shred the spinach leaves into thick slices.
From there, pre-heat a medium-large pot over medium heat for about a minute. Then, add your spinach, and keep stirring it until it wilts down.
Transfer the spinach on some kitchen paper to drain and give it a few minutes to cool. Once it’s cooled down, scrunch the spinach into multiple sheets of kitchen paper, then squeeze out as much liquid as you can.
You don’t have to get rid of all the water content, but just enough so that it doesn’t make the pasta go soggy.
Cooking the Courgettes
Now, quick side note, as much as I believe that people often turn their nose up at veggies because some refuse to open their mind. I do also believe it’s partly because delicate veggies like the zucchini are often overcooked.
We want to prepare it in such a way where the courgette is tender but still has it’s crunch. So first, cut the ends off of the zucchini, then cut it in half lengthways.
Use a spoon to scoop out the core of the zucchini, discard the core, then slice the zucchini.
Why scoop out the core? Well, because the middle of a zucchini is usually spongy and wet. Now that we just have the flesh of the zucchini, we will get a lovely crunchy yet tender result.
Now pre-heat a pan over medium flame for about 1 – 1.5 minutes, then add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Next, add you zucchini and cook for about 2-3 minutes stirring every so often.
And that’s it, don’t cook them for any longer than that. Transfer to a bowl, then add to the pasta when ready.
This for me, is how to cook a courgette properly.
How Long will this pasta keep?
In my experience, dairy based dishes can be sensitive to smells, so make sure the pasta is sealed well in an air tight container, and keep it in the fridge for no longer that 3 days.
This is certainly one winning pasta dinner! And I really hope you enjoy it. If you would like stay updated for upcoming recipes, then feel free to subscribe.
Have an amazing day and stay safe!
Creamy Spinach and Courgette Pasta with Sour Cream Sauce
A delicious, easy vegetarian pasta dish made with the most incredible sour cream sauce. Served with spinach and courgettes.
Ingredients
- 500 g fusilli (or any other spiral pasta)
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 1 cup of vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon of cornflour
- 35 g of fresh parmesan cheese grated
- 400 g of zucchini halved length-ways, then use a spoon to scoop out the seedy core. From there, thickly slice.
- 200 g of spinach roughly chopped
- 10-15 g of flat leaf parsley
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- Black pepper for seasoning
Instructions
-
Put 2 liters of water in a large pot, then add your salt.
-
Bring that water to a rolling boil, then add your pasta. Boil for 8-9 minutes (once the pasta is almost cooked, scoop out some of the pasta water with a mug). Once the pasta is cooked, drain it.
-
Put your sour cream, stock and cornflour in a small pot, and then whisk the ingredients together. From there, Bring the sour cream sauce to a boil, then turn the heat down low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened.
-
Finish the sauce by turning off the heat, then add you parmesan and stir through until the parmesan is fully incorporated (you shouldn't need to add salt because the parmesan seasons the sauce well enough). From there, season with black pepper and set then set the sauce aside until needed.
-
Pre-heat the large pot back over medium flame for about 1 minute, add half of your olive oil and then add your zucchini.
-
Cook the zucchini for 2-3 minutes until cooked but still crunchy.
-
Transfer the cooked zucchini to a bowl, add the other half of your olive oil and then add your garlic. Fry for about half a minute.
-
Add the sauce, then add your pasta. If the pasta is sticking together too much, add some of the pasta water you scooped out earlier to loosen it up.
-
Finally, turn the heat off, add your zucchini and your parsley, then serve. Add some extra black pepper if you wish.
Recipe Notes
- Use freshly grated parmesan for the sauce, rather than the pre-grated parmesan because the pre-grated stuff doesn't often melt through the sauce quite as well.
- Wilt the spinach and squeeze out most of it's water content, so that it doesn't cause the pasta to go soggy.
- Slice the zucchini in half lengthways, the use a spoon to scoop out the core before slicing. Since the core of a zucchini is quite spongy and wet.
- Don't cook the zucchini for too long, you want it to be tender but still have some crunch.
- If you have leftovers, store the pasta in an air-tight container, then store it in the fridge for no longer that 3 days.
- Other ingredients that would be good to add to this pasta are: Mushrooms (sliced and pan-fried), kale (quickly boiled in salted water and drained) and crispy pancetta (if you don't mind this dish no longer being vegetarian).
This sounds like a great summer pasta dish! Thank you for sharing!