Tortiglioni with Zucchini and Bacon

Frying the bacon and zucchini

It is best to use a short tube pasta or one with a hollow center, as it fills with the creamy sauce. You need the youngest, thin zucchini so that some of them can be kept as small rounds. To boost the flavor, use a soft Gorgonzola with a slightly sharp taste. Take dry-cured smoked bacon that is not too tough but fatty enough: the dish uses no olive oil, and the bacon has to render the fat for frying the zucchini.

1. Render the fat from the bacon. Heat a frying pan and turn the heat to below medium. Remove any leftover spices from the bacon, and the rind, which is not needed here. Cut the bacon into small cubes and fry, stirring often so the cubes render their fat evenly. Do not raise the heat, or the meat will start to burn. When enough fat has rendered, move the bacon cubes to a plate and leave the fat in the pan.

   

2. Fry half of the zucchini, diced, until soft. Young zucchini, where the seeds have not yet started to form, do not need peeling. Dice one zucchini and fry it in the bacon fat until the pieces are soft and are easily pierced with the tip of a knife. They do not have to brown. Move the cubes to a deep bowl or a small pot.

   

3. Fry the other half of the zucchini, in rounds, until golden. Cut the second zucchini into thin rounds 3-4 mm thick and fry in the remaining fat, turning often, until they start to brown noticeably. Then turn off the heat so the vegetables cool a little. If a lot of fat is left in the pan, it is better to pour it off. Leave the rounds in the pan.

   

Making the zucchini cream

4. Blend the zucchini with basil and Gorgonzola into a cream. Wash and dry the basil, pick off the leaves, chop them with a knife and put them in the bowl with the fried zucchini cubes. Add a little salt and ground black pepper. Blend the zucchini with the basil using a hand blender to get a mass like a cream.

   

   Add the crumbled Gorgonzola and blend again.

   

Cooking the pasta and combining it with the sauce

5. Cook the pasta al dente. While the sauce is cooking, bring 2 l of water to a boil in a large pot and salt it (10 g of salt). Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for the time on the package; the manufacturers guarantee al dente at that time. Keep half a cup of the pasta (50 g) cooking water, as you may need it. Drain the cooked pasta in a colander.

6. Combine the pasta with the cream, zucchini and bacon. Move the pasta to the pan with the fried zucchini rounds, add the bacon cubes and the zucchini and Gorgonzola cream. Gently stir the tortiglioni over low heat so the cream coats them well. If it is too thick, add the pasta cooking water, just a little at a time.

   

Serving

7. Divide the pasta among plates and serve right away. If you like, add freshly ground pepper or sprinkle with a little grated Parmesan, and garnish with a sprig of fresh basil. Serve the pasta while it is hot. Do not save tortiglioni for reheating; it is better to cook just enough for one meal, and it is quick and easy.

   

   If you can, the bacon can be replaced with pancetta or guanciale. In traditional Italian cooking, sun-dried tomatoes are often added to a dish like this, and the Gorgonzola is replaced with fresh ricotta, which, by the way, tastes good too.