Sautéed Italian Zucchini With Hazelnut Pesto

Sautéed Italian zucchini with hazelnut pesto and shaved parmesan is one of my favorite summer small plates. It works well as a vegetarian first course or as a side dish to a main course.

This warm Italian zucchini salad is perfect for summer when zucchini is in season, and you want to showcase this delicious piece of fresh seasonal produce.

Jump to:

• 📖 Ingredients List
• 👩🏼‍🍳 Instructions
• ❄️ Storage & Freezing
• 🥣 Equipment
• ❓Recipe FAQ
• 🍽 Related recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

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📖 Ingredients List

1. Italian zucchini - This European variety of zucchini is much smaller than the normal kind, which makes their flavor more intense, and they have much less water content. This makes them much better for cooking on their own, in my opinion as they stay firm and don't leak all over the pan. They are also known as baby zucchini (or baby courgettes).
2. Olive oil—Olive oils best suit the Mediterranean flavor profile of this dish. I like to use good-quality extra virgin olive oil.
3. Parmigiano Reggiano - You could also use Pecorino cheese or Gran Padano instead of parmesan.
4. Salt and cracked black pepper

For the hazelnut pesto

1. Hazelnuts—Fresh, whole roasted hazelnuts form the base of the pesto.
2. Pine nuts - These are for the classic pesto undertones and they give some additional crunch to the dish.
3. Basil—Always use fresh basil in pesto.
4. Parmesan - Grate a block of parmesan cheese rather than buy ready-grated cheese. It has better flavor and isn't treated with anticoagulants.
5. Garlic - Use as much as you dare.
6. Olive oil - I prefer not to use very strong extra virgin olive oil in pesto to avoid overpowering the taste.
7. Lemon juice and zest - this brightens the pesto and lifts all the flavors.

👩🏼‍🍳 Instructions

For the pesto sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/340F and place the hazelnuts on an oven tray. Roast the hazelnuts for around 10 minutes, then remove them to a bowl to cool and replace with the pine nuts. Roast the pine nuts for 5 minutes until browned.
2. Once the hazelnuts have cooled, rub them between slightly damp hands to remove the skins (they will simply flake off).
3. Blanch the basil leaves for 10 seconds in a bowl or saucepan of freshly boiled water, then remove immediately to a paper towel-lined plate and pat/squeeze them dry.
4. Blend all the pesto ingredients together in a food processor until you reach your desired consistency. Season the hazelnut pesto to taste, then add more oil to loosen the pesto into a sauce. Leave some hazelnuts and pine nuts whole to garnish.

For the Italian zucchini

1. Top and tail the Italian zucchini and slice each one into 3 evenly sized pieces. I like to slice on a diagonal to make the dish more visually interesting.
2. Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat until it glistens, then saute the sliced Italian zucchini in batches until browned. Don't overcook them, they need to still be firm and have some crunch.
3. Serve the sautéed Italian zucchini on warm plates drizzled with hazelnut pesto and topped with parmesan shavings, salt, and cracked black pepper.

❄️ Storage & Freezing

This dish is best served fresh, but you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. I sometimes toss the leftovers into a salad if I have any.

The pesto can also be frozen for up to a month.

🥣 Equipment

Saute the Italian zucchini in a frying pan with good heat distrubution, like a cast iron skillet or similar. Roast the hazelnuts and pine nuts on an oven tray.

I make my pesto in a food processor, but you can do it the old fashioned way with a pestle and mortar if you prefer!

❓Recipe FAQ

🍽 Related recipes

Looking for other summer recipes like this? Try these:

📖 Recipe