Pasta Ribbons with Zucchini, Brown Butter and Capers
A delightfully nutty in flavour, vegetarian dish that can be made relatively quickly. The zucchini is cut in two ways to bring a difference in texture, and the brown butter acts as the perfect dressing for silky ribbons of pasta.
If you’re not usually a lover of capers, I compel you to try them in this dish. Their salty tang cuts right through the sweetness of the butter and zucchini - required for balance! Burrata is optional but highly recommended - this is one of my favourite dishes of recent times.
Enjoy!
Pasta Ribbons with Zucchini, Brown Butter and Capers
Serves 4
Ingredients
Pasta
1x batch of my Master Pasta Dough
Sauce
1 tbsp EVOO
4 medium sized zucchini, 2 cut into rounds, 2 finely diced
160g butter, unsalted
Handful of fresh basil leaves
2 tbsp capers
1-2 handfuls of finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 ball of burrata to serve (optional)
Extra basil leaves to serve
Method
Pasta dough
Make the pasta dough according to instructions here.
Shaping the ribbons
Divide the dough into four pieces. Work with one at a time (keep the rest covered so as not to dry out) - flatten the piece with your hand or a rolling pin before passing it through the thickest setting on your pasta machine. Fold the edges in to create a neat rectangle that fits the width of your pasta machine, and run it through the thickest setting again and repeat until your dough is uniform in shape and fits the width of the machine.
Continue passing your dough through the machine, working through each thickness setting until you get to setting 6 on a Marcato atlas (typically fourth to last setting on most machines). If your preference is for a thinner pasta, go for it - but I firmly believe ribbons work better with a little bit of thickness, otherwise they’re prone for ripping while you try to twirl your way through a plate!
Take your rolled sheet and fold it in half, cutting at this seam to create two sheets roughly 25-30cm in length.
Dust each side of the sheets generously with flour and roll each end up to to meet in the middle.
Use a large knife to cut ribbons at 1.5-2cm intervals.
Set aside in a nest on a lined baking tray until you’re ready to use.
Repeat the process with the remaining dough.
Sauce and finishing touches
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and salt generously.
Heat oil in a sauté pan and add the rounds of zucchini. Cook for a couple of minutes until just starting to soften, then add the remaining diced zucchini. Season with salt, to taste.
Allow the zucchini to gently sauté over a medium heat for a few minutes, then add the butter. Allow the butter to brown - it will foam and spit - keep the pan whirling frequently.
As soon as it starts to smell nutty, add the pasta to the boiling water - cooking for approx 2-3 min or until suitably al dente.
At the same time, throw the capers and fresh basil into the butter sauce and whirl.
Drop the cooked pasta ribbons into the pan with the zucchini, with lashings of pasta water or course. Add a handful or two of grated Parmigiano and toss to marry with the sauce.
Divide between bowls and serve with a dollop of burrata, fresh basil leaves and a crack of black pepper.
