Pasta Shells in a Creamy Zucchini Almond Sauce
Ingredients (Serves 4):
2 cups of pasta shells (or short pasta, gf can be used)
1 ½ cups ricotta
3-4 tbsp. of parmigiano
1 cup of fresh basil loosely packed & chopped
4-6 baby zucchini or 3 mid-sized ones, cut into thin rounds
8-10 cherry tomatoes, halved
a couple of handfuls of slivered almonds
olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic
salt & pepper
Directions:
On medium heat, sauté the zucchini in a pan with a touch of olive oil and unpeeled clove of garlic and season with salt & pepper. Set aside to cool.
Squeeze the tomatoes of seeds and water, set aside. In a non-stick pan with a few drops of olive oil on medium heat, add another unpeeled clove of garlic and the almonds. Allow them to brown, then remove from pan, and allow mixture to drain and cool on a paper towel.
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package. In the meantime add the ricotta, basil, parmigiano, salt & pepper to the zucchini mixture. Place it all in a blender or food processer, loosening the mixture with some of the pasta cooking water.
Drain pasta, reserving some of the pasta cooking water, and mix with the ricotta/zucchini mixture. Plate the pasta, sprinkling the almond mixture and tomatoes on top, with a few sprigs of basil, enjoy!