Farfalle with soy-tomato-zucchini sauce

Ingredients (x3):
260 g farfalle
1 onion
1 clove garlic
150 g grinded soy
1/3 zucchino
2 tomatoes
4 tablespoons tomato puree
1 tablespoon white vinegar
olive oil
salt
black pepper
parsley

Preparation:
Remove the seeds of the tomatoes and peel them. Start cooking the pasta. Chop the onion and grind the garlic. Heat these two on a pan with olive oil. Pour the grinded soy on them. Cut the zucchino into thin sticks max. 3 cm of length and add it on the pan. Cut into small cubes the tomatoes that you previously peeled. Add the tomato cubes on the pan along with tomato puree. Keep the heat pretty high but not at maximum. Add a tablespoon of white vinegar. Add salt and black pepper according to your taste. Cook on high heat for a couple of more minutes and then let the sauce cook on lower heat for still some minutes.

When the pasta is al dente, pour the water off. Serve the pasta with the sauce and with chopped parsley.

Tagliatelle with pistachio-zucchini cream

Here's an excellent tagliatelle recipe where I make use of pistachios, those that you usually associate with snacking. Pappardelle are just as fine as tagliatelle.

Ingredients (x3):
200 g tagliatelle
2 small cloves garlic
½ onion
1 zucchina
4 tablespoons crème fraîche
3/4 dl milk
(instead of these last two you can use just plain cooking cream instead, or only milk if you want a lighter version)
black pepper
salt
olive oil
25 pistachios
parmesan

Preparation:
Put the pasta to cook in a pan with salted water. Grind the garlic and chop the onion and heat them on a pan with olive oil. Grate the zucchina and add it on the pan. Fry it on pretty high heat for three minutes. Mash 12 pistachios and add them on the pan. Add salt and pepper. Lower the heat considerably. Add the crème fraîche and milk into the vegetables and mix. Let the sauce cook on low heat for some 3-4 minutes. When the tagliatelle are al dente, remove the water. Mix the pasta with the sauce and mash the rest of the pistachios and dust them on the portions along with grated parmesan cheese.

Spaghetti with zucchini and garlic

I actually find tagliatelle to be even more suitable for this, but this time I made it with spaghetti (integrali). You can prepare this dish in less than 20 minutes, so it's great for when you can't take a long time to cook. But no matter of situation it is a tasty, simple dish and heavenly for garlic lovers.

Ingredients (x2):
125 g tagliatelle or spaghetti
1 zucchina
3-4 cloves garlic
basil (fresh or dry)
salt
black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
15 g margarine
parmesan

Preparation:
Put the pasta to boil. Grind the garlic. Grate the zucchina. Fry the garlic on a pan and when it has obtained some colour, pour the grated zucchina on the pan and fry it for max. 2 minutes at high heat. Add salt, black pepper and basil into the vegetables. Add the margarine. Blend the ready pasta with the sauce and serve with grated parmesan or parmesan flakes.

Fusilli with zucchini and tomato sauce

I make this dish quite often. It won't fail and it is not complicated. Celery (the white cube kind) and basil make this dish perfect, but you don't have to run to the shop if you don't have them at home right now. Dried basil is also acceptable. Just as well as fusilli, you can use almost any type of short pasta (from my experience I'd say that conchiglie and orecchiete are pretty good for it).

Ingredients x2:
175 g fusilli or other short pasta
1 onion
1-2 cloves garlic
a small zucchina
3 tomatoes
70 g white celery
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt
pepper
basil
parmesan

Preparation:
Grind the garlic and chop the onion and celery finely. Fry them all on a frying pan with olive oil. Once they have got a bit of colour, add the zucchina that you previously have cut into a few centimeters' long sticks. Peel the tomatoes and remove their seeds. Cut the tomatoes into pieces and add them into the pan. Fry the vegetables on a rather hot heat for some three minutes, then lower the heat. Add salt and pepper according to your taste. As last ingredient add the basil and let the sauce still rest a few minutes on the cooker on low heat. Cook the pasta in lightly salted water and when 'al dente', remove the water. Set the pasta on plates and add the sauce. Serve with grated parmesan cheese.