nigella's zucchini + vermouth pasta

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My girl crush on Nigella Lawson has reignited. Is it just me, or has she slimmed down (though I'm not suggesting she needed to change her voluptuous shape)? Or has she just glammed up? In 'Nigellisima' she's finally out of that denim jacket and floor length skirt and into slinky black cocktail frocks and spiky high heels. And her bone structure - amazing! Obviously Italian food agrees with her.

This week, did you too drool over the most decadent soft-serve coffee ice cream? Must google that one - aha! I was also salivating over the simple zucchini pasta supper for one. Perfect, as I still had a zucchini of dad's in the fridge.

The recipe was easy enough that I didn't bother grabbing for a notebook as she cooked; I just memorised 'onion - zucchini - vermouth - parsley - butter - parmesan'. And somehow, I think, I remembered it correctly the next day for my lunch.

Cooking it 'down' meant the zucchini went almost jam-like and deliciously sweet; the vermouth would have helped there, too. Just a smidgeon of parmesan and butter - just enough to make the 'sauce' creamy, not to taste obviously cheesy.

At least this is how I made it, without any reference to the official recipe.

Nigella's zucchini and vermouth pasta
My memorised take from the 'Nigellisima' TV show. Enough for one greedy person, as Nigella would say.

• First, put up on your lippy, tong your hair into voluptuous waves, and zip into a seductive black dress and your highest heels. Just kidding.
• Seriously, first get your pasta cooking - enough for one serve, a short pasta like cassarecce or penne.
• Meanwhile, heat a good glug of olive oil in a large frypan and saute a small onion; Nigella used spring onions, I think. Leek would also be lovely. I added some crushed garlic.
• Dice one zucchini and add it to the pan. Saute over a medium heat and allow it to soften; as Nigella said, you're going for a slow-cooked effect, not crispness. Once it's started to soften, add a slurp of vermouth, give it a good stir then partially cover to help it cook down. You shouldn't have any obvious liquid left, just a lovely gooeyness.
•  Once cooked, stir thru a generous handful of chopped parsley, a small sliver of butter and a pinch or two of grated parmesan; as I said above, just enough to add creaminess, not add too much cheesy-saltiness to the dish.
• Add your cooked and drained pasta to the pan, fold thru then serve.