Linguine with courgette pesto and mussels

Sometimes I wish to eat something and I can’t resist. So last Tuesday I went to our local fishmonger with Francesca and we did a bit of shopping for the week. Some mussels, some clams, an octopus to share, some anchovies, some scallops and monkfish.

I usually cook the mussels just with white wine, garlic and parsley, adding some tomatoes to give that extra touch of summer.

This time I wanted to experiment a bit and made this creamy courgette sauce to go with them and I was not disappointed. The basil gives the extra touch of freshness and the result is a delicate and colourful pasta with the smell of the sea.

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Ingredients

1 courgette (grated)

some basil leaves

extra virgin olive oil

500 gr of mussels

parsley

white wine

garlic

salt

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Method

Clean your mussels and cook them in a large pan with garlic and half glass of white wine. Once ready, take half of them, remove their shells and place on a plate. Wash one medium-big courgette and reduce in small pieces with the help of a grater.

Heat 2 spoons of extra virgin olive oil in a pan and cook your courgette, adding two pinches of salt. Once cooked, put it in a blender with some basil leaves that you have previously washed and some olive oil. It will create a creamy sauce. Put this sauce in a pan.

In the meantime bring the water to boil, add the salt and cook your pasta.

While you pasta is cooking heat the sauce, add a spoon of pasta water and stir. Add also the mussels.

When the pasta is al dente move it to the pan with the sauce and let it cook for two/three minutes until the sauce get absorbed and the pasta becomes green! Add the other mussels to the pasta.

Serve immediately and Buon Appetito!