Simple, fragrant and full of flavour, this Sea Flavoured Courgette & Blossom Pasta is the main dish that will boost your taste buds on summer days.
Questa ricetta è disponibile anche in italiano
Starring petite baby courgettes and their awesome flowers, this dish is inspired from the Italian classic combination zucchini and sea food.
Of course no fishes will be used in this recipe, instead we are still going to get the tasty fragrant sea flavour using sea weeds.
A good infused sea weed broth, is in fact the key element that will take this humble dish to the next level!
Such an easy to make component packed with a punch .
How to make the sea broth
I like to call this sea broth instead of vegan fish broth because it actually doesn't contain any fish or crustaceous while still carrying all the flavours of the sea.
Making the sea broth cannot be easier. All we need to do is to grab a handful of sea weeds and infuse in hot water for a few minutes.
There are plenty of sea weeds to choose from, all relatively easy to find nowadays.
The ones that I like to use to flavour the broths to make sea inspired dishes like this one are basically three:
- Kombu
- Wakame
- Dulse
This is definitely the top 3 of my favourite algae to use as they are the most flavourful and easy to infuse.
You can use only one of these or a combination of the three, like I normally do. I, in fact, find that every variety brings a level of taste, resulting in a most complex and rich flavour profile.
However, I understand that not all of us use lots of sea weed in our kitchens or simply don't want to invest/buy different types of them. If I were to use just one sea weed to make this broth I would 100% use the wakame.
At the end of the day is all about the amount of sea weed vs water and infusion time.
The ratio that I normally use to make sea weed broth is 1 tablespoon of wakame, 1 piece of kombu (around 5x5cm-2x2inch) and a pinch of dulse in 500 ml of water and a pinch of sea salt.
I bring the water to a boil and pour it into a glass bowl over the sea weeds, and infuse for at least 15 minutes (if you can I would suggest to infuse the broth for as much time as you can, since the longer you infuse the weeds the better).
Then I just use the broth in marinades, risottos, ramen and so on.
If using only 1 or 2 sea weeds make sure to use this ratio for a flavourful broth: 2 table spoons of sea weed in 500 ml of hot water and 1 tea spoon of salt.
How to make Sea Flavoured Courgette & Blossom Pasta
To make this beautiful pasta dish we have to make the sea broth as first thing, according pretty much the same method used in this southern Italian dish Rice, Potato and (Vegan) Mussels.
Use 1 or more sea weeds according to the ratio previously explained and allow to infuse in hot water while prepping the rest of the dish.
Next we have to wash the baby courgettes and carefully clean the zucchini blossoms. If you have never worked with these flowers you will notice that they are really delicate and fragile, so you must handle them with extra care.
If they came with a stalk you have to remove it and the pistil as they are not edible. Then you can just wash the petals with tap water and carefully shred into four of five pieces, ready to be cooked later on.
With a mandolin or a cheese slices, finely slice the baby courgettes and set aside.
In a pan heat up a table spoon of olive oil with one or two cloves of garlic. Add the baby courgette slices, season with salt and pepper and sauté for 5-7 minutes.
Next add the shredded courgette blossoms, some nori flakes*(optional) and a bit of beer (or white wine). Cook out the alcool, then add the pasta cooked "al dente".
Pour a couple of ladlefuls the sea broth over the pasta, lower the heat and cover with the lid to allow the pasta absorbing the juice.
Finally also pour the vegan cream** and give it a final stir.
Serve the Sea Flavoured Courgette & Blossom Pasta immediately with an extra sprinkle of nori flakes and freshly grated pepper.
*To make nori flakes simply roughly crumble some nori sheets and blend into a powder-like texture with a blender or grinder. These nori flakes are ideal to season dishes with fragrant sea flavour. Just sprinkle them over your dish for an extra punch.
**I used store bought soy based vegan double cream, you can use your favourite store bought cream or make your own.
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Don't miss other fantastic vegan "seafood" recipes like these Banana Blossom Fish Cakes and this Vegan Seafood Pasta.
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Sea Flavoured Courgette & Blossom Pasta
Ingredients:
...for the sea broth...
2 tablespoon Sea Weeds (a mix or 1 of wakame, kombu, dulse)
500 ml Hot Water
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
...for the pasta...
380 g Pasta
6 Baby Courgettes
10-12 Courgette Blossoms
1-2 Garlic Cloves (grated)
150 ml Vegan Cream
50 ml Beer (or white wine)
Nori Flakes* (optional)
Salt
Pepper
Method:
1. Make the sea broth by infusing the sea weed(s) in hot water with a pinch of salt for at least 15 minutes.
2. Wash both courgettes and blossom, then finely slice the first and shred the seconds.
3. In a pan heat up the olive oil with the garlic.
4. Add the baby courgette slices, season with salt and pepper and sauté for 5-7 minutes.
5. Add the shredded courgette blossoms, some nori flakes (optional) and a the beer (or white wine). Cook out the alcool.
6. In the meantime cook the pasta "al dente" (2-3 minutes before the suggested time on the packet).
7. Add the pasta to the pan.
8. Add couple of ladleful the sea broth over the pasta, lower the heat and cover with the lid to allow the pasta absorbing the juice. Add more broth if pasta is still hard to your taste and keep cooking as you were make a risotto.
9. Pour the vegan cream and give it a final stir.
10. Serve the Sea Flavoured Courgette & Blossom Pasta immediately with an extra sprinkle of nori flakes and freshly grated pepper.
Do you like courgettes?? Do not miss these recipes:
- Vegan Zoodle and Pea Bake
- Courgette Pesto Pasta
- Courgette and Potato Bake
- Courgette and Potato Cakes
- Vegan Courgette Parmigiana
- Simple Courgette and Blossom Bake
- Fluffy Courgette Stuffed Brioche Bread
- Courgette Baked Frittata
- Creamy Courgette and Rocket (Arugula) Pasta
- Courgette and Smoked Paprika Pastry Rolls
- Vegan Ratatouille Pizza Bites
- Mediterranean Veggies
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