Description
A comforting and nutritious dish featuring creamy ricotta, zucchini, and flavorful basil pesto, perfect for any occasion.
Ingredients
Scale
- A large bunch of fresh basil (roughly 30g)
- 50g pine nuts, toasted
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 25g parmesan cheese, grated (or veggie alternative)
- 4–5 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve
- 1 jar of Queen Butter Beans with their bean stock
- 3 tbsp olive oil (for cooking)
- 2 medium courgettes, sliced into 0.3cm thick rounds
- 1 fat garlic clove, thinly sliced
- 250g ricotta cheese, or vegan alternative
- Zest of 2 lemons, plus juice to taste
- Crusty bread for serving
Instructions
- Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes until golden, shaking the pan often. Remove and set aside.
- In the same pan, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat, add the courgettes with a pinch of salt, and sauté for 8-10 minutes until golden but still jammy.
- While the courgettes cook, reserve a small handful of toasted pine nuts for garnish and blend the remaining pine nuts, basil, crushed garlic, grated Parmesan, salt, and pepper in a blender. Stream in olive oil until desired consistency is reached.
- Add the thinly sliced garlic to the courgettes and cook for one minute until fragrant, then add the butter beans and their stock, stirring to combine and gently heat for around 2 minutes.
- Stir the prepared pesto into the beans and courgettes, continuing to heat through until glossy and well-coated.
- Spoon the mixture into bowls, dollop with ricotta, and finish with reserved toasted pine nuts, lemon zest, black pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve with crusty bread.
Notes
Bring ricotta to room temperature before serving. Toasting pine nuts enhances their flavor. Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Sautéing
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 400
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 300mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 32g
- Fiber: 6g
- Protein: 15g
- Cholesterol: 30mg