Pasta with Zucchini Sauce

Ingredients
2 slices bacon, chopped
1 medium onion , diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 medium zucchini, diced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
¹⁄₂ bouillon cube (I used vegetable bouillon)
¹⁄₂ cup Parmesan cheese
1 pound pasta
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions
1. In medium saucepan cook bacon until most of the fat renders.  Add onion and cook until softened.  Add garlic and zucchini and continue cooking until zucchini softens.  Remove zucchini mixture to large bowl. 

2. In now-empty saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute.  Pour in milk and stir constantly until sauce thickens and becomes smooth.  Add zucchini mixture and bouillon to pan then puree with immersion blender.  (Likewise you could put the zucchini mixture in a food processor at the end of step 1 to puree it before adding it to the cream sauce.) 

3. Reduce heat to low and simmer sauce five minutes.  Stir in Parmesan then taste for seasoning, add salt and pepper as necessary. 

4. Meanwhile, bring large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta as instructed by packaging.  Drain well. Toss pasta together with sauce and parsley. 

Comments
This recipe is from Kayotic Kitchen.  I chose it because I had a lot of zucchini on hand and wanted something new to do with it.  The sauce probably generated enough sauce for 2 pounds of pasta, or at least a pound and a half.  This is probably because I used entirely too much zucchini.  Oops.  It was definitely tasty, but I’m glad I didn’t just dump the pasta into the sauce and stir it all together.  The bacon added that great bacony flavor to the sauce, but it’s easy to omit if you want.  I used an immersion blender to mix everything together because it’s easier on my dishwasher than the food processor.  Be sure to check for seasoning at the end and don’t over salt prior to adding the Parmesan which can be quite salty!

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