Our good friend, the reliable spaghetti that has rescued so many will always be a stable in my kitchen. The long thin Italian pasta has always been present in my life, cooked in different styles and ways. It has been adopted in Iraqi cooking too where it is crispy at the bottom of the pot ! delicious.  As a student I remember having lots of it and I love making meatball sauce to go with it. Since becoming a mother of two energetic boys I am thankful that they have adopted my love of spaghetti. It is one of the easiest meals I can give my boys knowing I will have empty plates. My boys eat it plain with splat of olive oil and garlic, with green, red or meatball sauce. Their favourite is my creamy chicken recipe (click for recipe HERE).

I wanted to introduce zucchini (courgette) to my boys. So I thought its best to mix it with spaghetti. I was a bit apprehensive how to hid it. I Pinterest and Googled a few recipes and then discovered this beautiful cooking website; An Italian in my kitchen. Please check it out. I found the recipe so easy and faster to cook than I imagined. I changed it slightly not using cream cheese but a handful of grated cheddar cheese, and a few table spoons of cream. I added sliced onion and garlic and NO parsley. I used Spaghetti and not Penne pasta.  The result was wonderful. Empty plates all round and no left overs!

Note that you can use other types of cheese that go well with pasta like Parmigiano (Click HERE for Rachael Ray Everyday who gives you more detailed advice). I used Cheddar because I love it like all Brits do and I always have it in my fridge. Remember to use a bit because of its strong flavour.  Okay lets cook ….

Ingredients

Spaghetti

1 large zucchini

2 tablespoons of olive oil

half large white onion

3 cloves of garlic

half cup of cream (fluid)

Seasoning

1 tablespoon of basil (dried or fresh)

Handful of grated cheese

Method

Step 1- Boil the spaghetti pasta as instructed on the packet and drain.

Step 2- In a hot pan add olive oil and fry the diced onion and sliced zucchini. Add crushed garlic (or sliced) and sauté for 5-7 min maximum. You don’t want to over cook the zucchini, as it is nice to have a bit of crunch to it.

Step 3- Add cream, cheese and seasoning with the basil to the pan.

Step 4- Add the drained cooked spaghetti and mix well. Then serve hot.

Buon Appetito ( in Italian accent !)