White Baked Pasta with Zucchini. An easy main dish that even kids will love. A pasta enriched with zucchini, ham, and provolone, made with a thick and short pasta, for example, paccheri or mezzi paccheri. While the baked rigatoni recipe and the baked mezze maniche recipe, are without béchamel, this baked pasta with zucchini has béchamel that will make it very creamy. Clearly, this baked pasta with zucchini is without tomato.
Besides the version of the baked pasta with zucchini, I’ve given you a gift, and at the end of the recipe, you’ll find how to cook baked pasta in an air fryer and the version for making baked pasta in the microwave. It’s your choice, based on how much time you have and what you want to cook. Let me explain better, if we turn on the oven, it makes sense to cook different recipes to save energy. While if you want to make 2-3 servings of baked pasta, then it makes sense to cook it in an air fryer. But if you really want to save time and energy, then cook it in the microwave, and you’ll be surprised by the result.
Now let’s make the white baked pasta with zucchini and let me know which version you’ll choose.
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 10 Minutes
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 6
- Cooking methods: Oven, Air Fryer, Microwave
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer and Autumn
- Energy 512.05 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 39.75 (g) of which sugars 4.78 (g)
- Proteins 26.54 (g)
- Fat 28.36 (g) of which saturated 14.17 (g)of which unsaturated 7.79 (g)
- Fibers 2.83 (g)
- Sodium 1,734.62 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 200 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 1.1 lbs paccheri (or other short pasta)
- 4 Zucchini (1.3 lbs)
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil
- 4.2 oz cooked ham
- 7 oz provolone (or mozzarella)
- 3 tbsps Parmigiano Reggiano DOP (grated)
- salt
- 2.1 cups milk
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsps butter
- 2 pinches nutmeg
- 1 pinch salt
What You’ll Need
- 1 Mandoline
- 1 Skillet
- 1 Pot
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Baking pan 11×8 inches
Preparation
Wash and trim the zucchini. Slice them with the help of a mandoline. Peel the garlic clove, put it in the skillet, and add the oil, browning it over very low heat. Add the zucchini, lightly salt them, stir, and then cover with a lid. Cook the zucchini for 10 minutes, then turn off. Transfer the zucchini to the bowl, and in the meantime, bring salted water to a boil with half a tablespoon of salt to cook the pasta. Plunge the pasta and cook it for half the time indicated on the package.
While cooking the pasta, prepare the béchamel. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour and mix well. Gradually add the milk, stirring continuously. Salt and season with nutmeg, then return to heat and bring to a light boil, stirring constantly, then turn off. Drain the pasta.
Cut the ham into pieces and add it to the zucchini along with the béchamel and mix. Add 2 tablespoons of grated cheese and the chopped provolone. I use a coarse grater to chop it, it yields much more and is faster.
At this point, add the pre-cooked pasta and mix very well. Spread the white pasta with zucchini in the baking pan and level it well. Sprinkle the surface with the other tablespoon of grated cheese.
Now you are ready to bake the white pasta with zucchini. Preheat the oven to 356°F and then bake the pasta for 30 minutes.
To cook the white pasta with zucchini in the air fryer, start by halving the doses, for example by cooking 10.5 oz of pasta. Use a Teflon or aluminum pan that conducts heat better. Cook at 356°F for 18 minutes and if you notice that in the last minutes the surface seems very browned, lower the temperature to 338°F.
Here are some tips for cooking baked pasta in the microwave:
1) you can use a Pyrex or enameled ceramic oven dish and use the same doses.
2) Cover the dish with microwave-safe plastic wrap and make 2 small holes with a stick (photo 1).
3) Place the dish in the microwave and start the first cooking for 10 minutes at 800 watts.
4) Remove the wrap (photo 2), being careful of the internal steam, place the dish on a microwave riser, and set the microwave to the combined microwave + grill function (Crisp and similar) for 10 minutes and start the second cooking step.
For all 3 versions, I suggest letting the white baked pasta with zucchini rest for 10 minutes. It will be easier to serve.
Variants for making white baked pasta
If you have leftover baked pasta, you can store it in the refrigerator, in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
White Gratin without Ham
For a version of baked pasta without cold cuts, you can add a soft cheese that gives character to the recipe. For example, taleggio, fontina, pieces of caciocavallo, or, why not, gorgonzola.
