The pasta with zucchini, pumpkin flowers and tenerumi is a light summer first course where nothing is sautéed, resulting in a creamy, fragrant, and definitely light dish.
The preparation is simple and quick, and it is a dish suitable for everyone, from the youngest to the oldest.
Nature gives us so many wonders that often we just need to combine a few and cook them briefly to have dishes rich in minerals and very few calories.
Especially in summer, our body will thank us if we can often introduce light preparations into our diet that nourish it without stressing it.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 301.69 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 36.84 (g) of which sugars 1.85 (g)
- Proteins 15.74 (g)
- Fat 12.14 (g) of which saturated 3.39 (g)of which unsaturated 1.78 (g)
- Fibers 4.80 (g)
- Sodium 266.82 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 415 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 zucchini
- 2.5 oz pumpkin flowers
- 1.1 oz tenerumi
- 2.1 oz onion
- 1 garlic
- 5.6 oz pasta (fusilli)
- 2 tbsps grated Grana Padano (plus more to sprinkle on the pasta)
- 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
Tools
- Cutting Board
- Knife vegetable cutter
Preparation
To prepare the pasta with zucchini and pumpkin flowers, wash and clean the zucchini by trimming them, and the flowers by removing the green calyx that surrounds them and the central pistil.
If you also have zucchini leaves, you can add them and they should be cleaned by removing the fibrous skin covering the stem and the veins of the leaf.
To do this, cut the stem leaving a part attached and from there pull away the filaments.
Repeat the operation to clean the entire circumference of the stem.
On a cutting board and with a vegetable knife, then cut the zucchini into thin slices and the flowers and leaves into pieces.

Place the finely chopped onion in a pan with a little water, add the chopped zucchini, flowers, leaves, garlic, and salt, and cook leaving them al dente.

At this point, add more water, just enough to cook the pasta.
Wait for it to return to a boil, and in the same pot, add the pasta, stirring occasionally.
When the pasta is cooked, turn off the heat and season with extra virgin olive oil, grated Grana Padano, and if desired, a piece of raw garlic.
Stir gently.
The pasta with zucchini, pumpkin flowers, and tenerumi is ready, serve sprinkled with grated Grana Padano.
Storage
You can store the zucchini with the cooking water for one day. However, it is advisable to use them on the same day they are cooked for the best taste.
Ecco una selezione di ottimi prodotti utili in cucina. Molti di questi sono stati da me stessa comprati e testati. L’elenco verrà costantemente aggiornato.
To view the recommended products click here.
To view the recommended products click here.

