In Palermo, there is a real passion for a light-coloured long courgette, the “Legenaria Longissima” is the scientific name of this Sicilian Courgette. The whole plant is edible because its leaves are the famous “Tenerumi” of Palermo’s summer soup, which is eaten despite the heat!

This long courgette has many uses in Palermo and until about twenty years ago it was found boiled in the shops of the greengrocers and when buying it, the seller would ask “do you want it seasoned with salt or sugar?”, a sign of the Sicilians’ passion for candied pumpkin, an important ingredient in some ancient sweets.

I had a lot of fun with this courgette, which smells deeply of summer. Just think, when I picked it, I noticed that it was longer than my nine-year-old son. I decided to use some of it to dress some Spaghettoni cooked entirely in Ghisanativa.

This dish is very healthy and fresh and does not involve frying! My family really licked their chops!

Ingredients for 4 people

• 400 g Spaghettoni (thick spaghetti)
• one big Sicilian courgette (3 regular zucchini)
• half a clove of garlic without its core
• a handful of unpeeled almonds
• half a glass of extra virgin olive oil
• a bunch of fresh mint
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste

Preparation method

Start by removing the ends from the courgette, peeling it with a potato peeler. Then cut it in half vertically and then into four or five-centimetre chunks. Bring water to the boil in a fairly large saucepan and, as soon as the water boils, add the courgette with a little salt and cook for about fifteen minutes. Scoop out the courgette with a slotted spoon and put a third of it into a blender. Set the other third aside. Pour the extra-virgin olive oil, almonds, garlic, and half a ladleful of the cooking water from the courgette into the blender.

Blend to obtain a smooth cream. Pour this cream into the Ghisanativa pan and add the cooking water from the courgette up to the middle of the pan. As soon as it comes to the boil, add the spaghetti and use a wooden spoon to fold them without breaking them. Add cooking water if necessary, bearing in mind that at the end of cooking it should be creamy but not too liquid. Turn off the heat a few minutes before the end of cooking, add the pieces of courgette boiled separately and the chopped mint.

Serve with a drizzle of raw oil and freshly ground pepper.

Veronica Schiera

“An environmental educator in Sicily and a cooperator in Tanzania for a long time, in 2017 I began to study agri-food supply chains and became passionate about the world of cooking. Later I studied at the Gambero Rosso cookery school and decided to open a restaurant in one of the city’s old markets, the Capo, in the historic centre of Palermo, Le Angelique, in 2019 with three other female colleagues and friends, of which I am the chef. I continue to roam the woods of the island to find inspiration and keep in touch with the Planet of which I have deep respect that I pour into a careful, tasty and zero-kilometre cuisine.“

This recipe was prepared using