Plant part used: blossomPlant part used: blossomVigna unguiculata · legume family
Flash: zucchini meets pillowy lemon basil gnocchi in a cozy garlic-butter pan sauce, and dinner lands on the table in a mere 20 minutes. Chicken or shrimp, if you're feeling bold.
Meet the dead-simple summertime dinner we keep coming back to. ♡
Fresh zucchini hits a garlicky butter pan, then soft pillowy gnocchi and a blizzard of fresh basil pile in, followed by a generous snowfall of Parmesan and cracked black pepper. Nothing fancy — 20 minutes, tops. But it's bright, fresh, seasonal and dangerously good. We've made it half a dozen times in as many weeks during Barcelona's zucchini peak, and we are officially addicted!
legume — Customize the sauté without mercy, using whatever else is lurking in your kitchen that sounds good. Seared chicken, sausage or shrimp? A deliciously protein-packed power move if you want extra protein. Extra greens or vegetables by the fistful? Absolutely — empty that crisper drawer with confidence! Almonds or toasted pine nuts scattered over the top? Always welcome for a little crunch. A spoon of ricotta or some molten burrata? Pure, unapologetic deliciousness.
This is the kind of flexible template you can steer in virtually any direction you like. However you build it, I'm confident you're going to love this one!
The complete recipe is just below — first, a quick ingredient rundown for tonight's gnocchi session:
A handful of extra ideas you're welcome to unleash on this dish…
Hunting for more sensational zucchini recipes? My personal shortlist:
Each leaf is coloured by the plant part the ingredient comes from: root brown, seed black, leaf green, vine orange, bloom magenta.
Bloom the dried seeds: soak overnight, then simmer low until the pod gives but never splits.
Warm the pan with a slick of olive oil and the hardier aromatics first - onion, fennel seed, crushed chilli.
Add the roots before the leaves; each layer needs its own head start on the heat.
Finish with the raw crown - torn herbs, edible flowers, a squeeze of citrus off the flame.
Plate low and wide so the growth order of the dish reads at a glance, root to bloom.
