Pasta with long zucchini and potatoes, the Sicilian summer soup with broken pasta and long zucchini. A dish as simple as it is tasty, part of the Sicilian cuisine and grandma’s recipes and a traditional recipe that personally reminds me of summers in Pedara with my maternal grandmother. When I was a child my grandfather Carmelo, at our country house, loved to grow long zucchinis also called “zucchina pergola”, those very narrow and long ones with a light green color, the same whose plant yields the tenderums. Grandma used these zucchinis to make zucchini, potato and tomato soup, and when we didn’t eat it with homemade bread, she also made a delicious creamy pasta. Certainly, at the time pasta with zucchini and potatoes, perfect for a vegan or vegetarian meal, wasn’t my favorite lunch, but now that years have passed and the grandparents are gone, this soup takes me back in time, reminding me of late-summer afternoons, the sun at sunset and the scents of a kitchen now preserved in memories. Typical of summer, despite being a warm dish, this pasta, zucchini and potato soup offers great benefits, giving us not only vitamins and fiber but also fluids and minerals — in short a real cure-all to try, which grandma made even better by adding a good handful of Parmesan or Grana Padano at the end of cooking.

It also made it an extraordinary one-dish meal. But are you ready to come with me into the kitchen to discover how to make pasta with long zucchini using grandma’s recipe? Let’s go into the kitchen — our recipe is waiting — but before you rush to the stove, I remind you that if you want to stay updated on new recipes you can follow my Facebook page and my Instagram profile! Also check out:
–Pasta and bean soup;
–Pasta soup with onion, tomato and potatoes;
–Pasta soup with potatoes and broccoli;
–Pasta soup with potatoes and pumpkin;
–Pasta and lentil soup.

Difficulty: Very easy
Cost: Affordable
Preparation time: 5 Minutes
Cooking time: 45 Minutes
Portions: 6 Servings
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients to make Sicilian pasta with long zucchini

2.2 lbs zucchini (long or trombetta zucchini)
5.3 oz tomato pulp (ripe, medium (about 2/3 cup))
1 onion
1.3 lbs potatoes
to taste Salt
to taste Extra virgin olive oil
14 oz pasta (short pasta, better if broken spaghetti or linguine)
3.5 oz Grana Padano PDO (or Parmesan (about 1 cup))

Tools

How to make pasta with long zucchini and potatoes

Rinse the long zucchini, peel it only if the skin is tough, then cut it into small cubes. Peel the potatoes, rinse them and cut into cubes, finally peel and chop the onion. Sauté the onion in a good drizzle of oil, add the potatoes, season with salt and cook for 5–6 minutes, stirring often.
Season the potatoes, add the zucchini and the tomato purée or chopped tomatoes. Stir and cook another 5 minutes before adding about 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) of water.
Cook over medium heat, covered, for about 30–35 minutes. Then remove the lid and let some liquid evaporate; once you obtain a creamy soup the dish would already be good as it is, but if you want to make pasta with it, add about 3 1/3 cups (800 ml) of water and bring to a boil.
Add the pasta, adjust salt if needed and cook until it is done and has absorbed almost all the liquids. Turn off the heat, add a handful of grated Parmesan, plate up, drizzle with a little olive oil, a sprinkle of pepper if you like, then bring to the table.
Prepare the amount of pasta you plan to eat; warm or lukewarm it’s much better than cold.