Apparently a legend on the internets- I had never heard of this recipe until my coworker brought some in for lunch. Maybe it’s a way to get kids to eat more veggies? But for me it’s simply delicious!

It’s great for lunch or to bring to a potluck or picnic, and good as an easy side to a well cooked piece of meat. Eat it warm, room temp, or cold- you’ll be happy either way.

Now way is it called disappearing zucchini pasta? Well the zucchini does a little vanishing act in the pasta. The textures of the pasta and zucchini are so close after the cooking process that you get additional flavor from the veggies and slightly more heft, but you can’t really tell the two apart after you take a bite.

Start by grating 3 zucchinis. It’s going to look like a crazy amount of zucchini compared to the pasta you’re about to cook- but don’t worry, the zucchini will reduce in size drastically as it cooks. Boil to the box instructions about a cup of orzo pasta or the smallest pasta you can find in chicken broth. Sauté a chopped shallot and a minced garlic clove in a little olive oil then add the zucchini. Add about a tablespoon of any mixture of chopped fresh herbs you have on hand. You can use dried as well. 🙂 Salt, pepper. Cook, stirring, until soft and lightly golden.

In a large bowl, stir together the drained pasta and cooked zucchini. I’ll usually finish it with a drizzle of good olive oil and one of my favorite French spices- Piment d’Esplette- a crushed pepper with heat on the mild side. Grated Parmesan is always a delicious add too!

Happy Cooking!