Creamy Sauce with Courgette and Gremolata

Preparation You'll need: A large pan A large pot with lid
Ingredients Pasta and Sauce (for 2 persons) 250 g pasta (from boring spaghetti to great tagliatelle to huge paccheri) Either: 100 g sweet cream and 40 g yoghurt (plain), or 140 g Double cream, or 140 g mascarpone It's relatively similar, maybe you already have some of the ingredients in the fridge anyway. approx. 30 g Parmesan, plus what you need at the table for self-service 1 rather large courgette 1 heaped tsp of granulated chicken or vegetable stock 1 lime
Ingredients Gremolata (for 2 persons) 25 g green pistachios (unsalted, unroasted) If you can't find them, look for roasted ones and skip the roasting. Only unsalted is a must. 1/2 burnch of plain parsley Some thyme (approx. 1/2 tsp) 2-3 cloves of garlic 1 lime Salt and pepper Olive oil
First Steps This goes well with a red wine. If you want to drink rosé with it, you should have some in the fridge, otherwise it's too late now *grin* - hint: freezer. Cover a large pot and bring 3 litres of water to the boil, turn off and keep ready. Meanwhile... Cut 1 large courgette into sticks (approx. 4-6 cm long and 1 cm wide). Coarsely grate 30 g Parmesan cheese. Toast 25 g pistachios in a clean pan for approx. 2-3 minutes until well browned. Set aside in a medium bowl, either whole or not too finely chopped. Finely chop/press 2-3 cloves of garlic and add to the pistachios. When the pasta water is at least steaming, briefly rinse 1/2 bunch of parsley and hold the parsley leaves by the stems in the water for a few seconds (so that they are not quite so raw in the gremolata). Pluck and chop the leaves and add to the pistachios. Wash and zest both limes and put to one side. Preheat the pasta plates in the oven at 100°C.
Cooking Fry the courgette sticks in a pan with a little olive oil over a high heat for approx. 5-6 minutes until partially browned. In the meantime continue with... Bring the pot of water back to the boil, add 3 tsp of salt and cook the pasta according to the instructions (for "al dente", no longer - about 5-15 minutes, depending on the type and manufacturer). Meanwhile... Also add to the pistachios (this will become the gremolata): 1/2 tsp thyme, 2-3 Tbsp good olive oil, 1 tsp lime zest, salt and pepper. Cut one lime in half at the "equator" and juice one half. Add the juice to the pistachios. Mix well. Cut the second half into 2 wedges and place them in a small bowl on the dining table for self-service (together with additional Parmesan cheese and the bowl of gremolata). Just before the pasta is ready, remove 50 ml of pasta water (I simply do this with a 500 ml glass measuring jug) and put to one side, juice the second lime completely and add the juice to the 50 ml of pasta water. Once the pasta is ready, pour through a sieve. Deglaze the courgette sticks with the pasta water/lime juice. Then add 1 heaped tsp of granulated chicken or vegetable stock, 1 tsp of lime zest, the Parmesan and 140 g cream (100 g cream/40 g yoghurt, or 140 g mascarpone or double cream). Stir well and simmer for 2-3 minutes, then add the pasta and mix well. Simmer for a further 1-2 minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Arrange the pasta and sauce in warmed plates and serve. Everyone can now help themselves to the lime wedges, parmesan and gremolata.