Pasta with Zucchini and Peas with Egg — My One-Dish Wonder

La storia di questo piatto

This is the dish Italy cooks when no one is watching — a quiet prayer assembled from garden and larder, where zucchini speaks of sun-warmed soil and peas carry the memory of spring rain on Ligurian hillsides.

Ingredienti

• 80 g short pasta (penne or fusilli)
• 150 g medium zucchini
• 60 g fresh or frozen peas
• 40 g fresh lettuce (curly or romaine)
• 30 g salted ricotta
• 30 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 500 ml pasta water
• 5 g salt

Preparazione

1. Bring water to a rolling boil in a pot over high heat — when you see steam rising, add salt. Meanwhile, cut the zucchini into half-centimeter cubes: work quickly, no paper-thin slices. The secret is keeping pieces chunky so they stay crisp through cooking.
2. When the water is truly boiling, add the pasta and follow the box time, but pull it out 1 minute early — it must stay al dente, trust me. While it cooks, pour oil into a wide pan over medium-high heat and add the diced zucchini: they should sizzle immediately, and you'll smell the aroma. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the edges start to turn golden.
3. Add the peas to the zucchini and stir well — if using fresh peas, cook 3 minutes; if frozen, 2 minutes. Keep the heat at medium.
4. When the pasta is al dente, drain it while reserving half a cup of cooking water. Pour the pasta into the pan with the vegetables, turn off the heat, and stir quickly for 30 seconds — the starch in the cooking water creates the creaminess that binds everything together. If it looks too dry, add a splash of pasta water.
5. Off the heat, crumble the fresh lettuce by hand over top — it must stay fresh and crisp, never cooked. Using a microplane knife, shave the salted ricotta directly onto the dish in flakes — it should stay crisp and visible, never powdered. A final drizzle of oil and one last pinch of salt. Taste before serving: it should be creamy, verdant, alive, with the crisp contrast of the salted ricotta.