Spaghetti With Zucchini, Parsley Pesto and Bottarga
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- 2cups roughly chopped parsley
- 4garlic cloves, roughly chopped, or 2 tablespoons finely chopped green garlic
- Salt and pepper
- ¾cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1pound spaghetti
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2pounds medium zucchini, cut in ½-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
- Salt and pepper
- Large pinch of red-pepper flakes
- 1teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 4tablespoons grated bottarga (4 to 6 ounces)
- About ½ cup toasted bread crumbs (see Note)
- Lemon wedges, for serving
For the Pesto
For the Pasta
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
685 calories; 40 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 23 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 71 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 22 grams protein; 736 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Make the pesto: Put parsley in a food processor or blender. Add garlic, a good pinch of salt, black pepper to taste, and olive oil. Whirl to make a smooth sauce. You should have about 1 cup of pesto.
- Step 2
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook spaghetti according to package directions until al dente, erring on the slightly underdone side.
- Step 3
While the pasta cooks, put about 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the zucchini for about 2 minutes. Let it brown a little. Add salt, pepper, red-pepper flakes and lemon zest.
- Step 4
Add drained pasta to skillet along with half the pesto. Toss everything together. Taste, and add more salt or pesto as needed. (Wrap and refrigerate any remaining pesto for up to 2 days or freeze for future use.)
- Step 5
Divide pasta among individual plates and sprinkle generously with bottarga. Top with bread crumbs, and serve with lemon wedges.
Tip
- To make toasted bread crumbs, combine 1 cup coarse bread crumbs with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of salt. Spread evenly on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees until lightly browned and crisp, about 10 minutes. Cool and store in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to use.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
Isolina
Why Americans love to put so many ingredients together when less would be better? If you have pesto with zucchini why add bottarga. Or if you crave bottarga the. Leave out the pesto!!!
S
@GBR:. Bottarga or other fish roes are not suitable for vegetarians because it is obtained from killed fish. Chicken or bird eggs are not obtained by killing the bird, so vegetarians find these acceptable. @Ritz, maybe try capers or minced olives?
Marguerite
I wonder if Kenji Lopez-Alt's seriously genius dried olive and miso crumble might be a good substitute? I've never had bottarga, BUT I love this recipe: https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/02/dried-olive-miso-rosemary-shake-parmesan-replacement-vegan.html
cookingforfun
Not sure about Brooklyn specifically but, in Manhattan, I’ve seen bottarga at Eataly and, I think, in the provisions area of Il Buco Alimentari.
Mike
Add pine nuts to the parsley pesto instead of the fish eggs. And salt.
Jean
Instead of bottarga, I dissolved two anchovy fillets in olive oil in a small frying pan and added the breadcrumbs to toast them.
Stu
Too much bottarga. It has a very assertive flavor (and it's too expensive!) Use it like you would Parmesan cheese but more sparingly. bottargabrothers.com has a big assortment.
James Stolich (CookWithJames.com)
This is a wonderful and simple dish. I'm reading the messages here and am not sure why so many of you are complaining that it comes from fish and is expensive? Think about caviar. Now that is really expensive by comparison. Bottarga is a delicacy and a little bit goes a long way. It will last a long, long time. Much like saffron you use a little and keep the rest refrigerated. The bottarga makes up perfectly for the absence of cheese in this dish.
Bill Rosenblatt
I made this with some changes. First, cook zucchini for much longer than 2 mins, more like 10. 2 mins gives watery sauce and crunchy zucchini chunks. Sprinkle salt on zucchini to draw out moisture. Save some cooking water before draining pasta, add gradually to sauce (at least half a cup) while tossing pasta in it. Add entire batch of pesto. This makes for creamer sauce with more concentrated flavor.
stephanie sklut
As a lover of food, I am always ecstatic to be introduced to something if which I have never heard. My childhood was pot roast on Tues and meatloaf on Weds and rice a roni was something exotic that I had at a friend's house! Life is too short to limit yourself. The only rule I have for my children is you have to try at least once and that McDonald's every once in a while is not going to kill you. I will be looking for borttarga. Thank you NYT for making life just a little more interesting!
Deborah
My neighbor out here in CT imports bottarga in several different size packages. http://www.bottargabrothers.com/ The site has lots of information about bottarga, as well as additional recipe ideas.
BonnieD
Ed, we order ours from Alma Gourmet.
Liz
I have heard of using cured chicken or duck egg yolks as a substitute for bottarga. I don't know how closely this replicates the taste of fish roe bottarga, but it's probably worth a try.
david
Serious Eats suggests that 4 oz of bottarga should go as far as a pound of Parmigiano Reggiano (both cost about $20), so the 4-6 oz in this recipe is probably about three times as much as SE suggests you should use.
Brooklynite
Okay, so I didn't make the precise recipe but a pasta nada version. I needed to use up some zucchini and I didn't have bottarga, bread crumbs, or spaghetti. I had some leftover pesto that already had some walnuts and cheese in it, and penne rigate. But I used lemon (actually lime) zest/red pepper seasoning on the zucchini, added some capers in place of bottarga, and liked the results. It did take longer than 2 minutes to get the zucchini golden and tender. Will definitely make again.
Dennis II
No bottarga around but capers added great taste as a substitute. Good recipe - will definitely make this again.
serena
bottarga is the key magical ingredient. transforms this dish from a nice, if boring, pesto to a savory unnami filled pasta dish. the lemon zest and a little lemon juice squeezed on top also really really added to the flavor.
GB in PDX
I am so glad I made this with our first garden zucchini of the season! It is magically delicious! Contrary to other reviews - I don't think the bottarga is an unnecessary extra - rather I think it ties everything together. Basically, the bottarga functions in much the same way a sprinkle of grated Parmesan would . . . it adds a salty, umami goodness. If you can get your hands on bottarga - this is a wonderful way to use it.
Jean
Instead of bottarga, I dissolved two anchovy fillets in olive oil in a small frying pan and added the breadcrumbs to toast them.
stephanie sklut
As a lover of food, I am always ecstatic to be introduced to something if which I have never heard. My childhood was pot roast on Tues and meatloaf on Weds and rice a roni was something exotic that I had at a friend's house! Life is too short to limit yourself. The only rule I have for my children is you have to try at least once and that McDonald's every once in a while is not going to kill you. I will be looking for borttarga. Thank you NYT for making life just a little more interesting!
Haris
Bottarga is a delicacy much favored in Greece and I’ve tried a few recipes with pasta. The best one so far is with lime zest,basil and olive oil. Trim the bottarga on top and don’t forget to add pepper!
Joe Zahner
We do our bottarga run in the spring while the fishermen are still wet.
David Hays Buckley
Would you provide a few details? What do you actually do and does it result in obtaining bottarga from fishermen or anyone else?
sheila
Substitute an impossible to find bottargo with 3 oz sliced prosciutto. Place 5-6 slices on parchment lined cookie sheet and bake in 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. Cool and crumble over pasta mixture
Bill Rosenblatt
I made this with some changes. First, cook zucchini for much longer than 2 mins, more like 10. 2 mins gives watery sauce and crunchy zucchini chunks. Sprinkle salt on zucchini to draw out moisture. Save some cooking water before draining pasta, add gradually to sauce (at least half a cup) while tossing pasta in it. Add entire batch of pesto. This makes for creamer sauce with more concentrated flavor.
conniethecook
Loved this dish: the meld of lemon, red pepper, parsley pesto with the Bottarga. Wouldn’t change a thing!
Kampachi
Loved the combination of bottarga and zucchini but did only use three tablespoons-ish of the pesto as my garlic was pungent enough that 1/2 cup of pesto would have drowned out the bottarga. I wanted to showcase the bottarga. Omitted the red chili flakes for the same reason. Served the pasta as a side for halibut on a tomato sauce topped with some of the leftover pesto and breadcrumbs.
david
Serious Eats suggests that 4 oz of bottarga should go as far as a pound of Parmigiano Reggiano (both cost about $20), so the 4-6 oz in this recipe is probably about three times as much as SE suggests you should use.
Susanne
I substituted asparagus for the zucchini. I had bottarga In my cupboard but I forgot to use it still we enjoyed this fish very much
Mary O
No bottarga on hand. Add a little drizzle of red boat fish sauce? or a bit of anchovy paste to the pesto?
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