This is a very easy dish to prepare, great for warm weather. The original was rather obsessive about salt (quantity and varieties of), but I have adjusted it.

The recipe calls for mint. We prefer to use apple-mint, or in Germany "Marok-Minze", since we find that Spearmint and Peppermint are just too fierce for the other ingredients.

This is one of our favourite vegetarian dishes.

Penne With Zucchini Ricotta And Mint

The Sauce

1. Into a bowl place the contents of a tub of ricotta (about 175 grams).
2. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and gently mix or whisk it into the cheese.
3. Add about 1 cup of grated parmesan and mix/whisk in.
4. Mix in 2 about tablespoons of warm water (e.g. from the Penne saucepan). The quantity should be adjusted to get the consistency of the sauce right (a thick coating consistency).

The Solid Ingredients

1. Chop up the Zucchini (baby-marrow, also know as summer squash or courgettes): cut it twice lengthways (i.e. into quarters) and then cut the pieces into chunks about half an inch long.
2. Start to cook the Penne in salted boiling water. Note the time that you start to cook it.
3. While the penne is cooking, put the sliced Zucchini into a deep saucepan, and fry it with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
4. When the Penne is 2 minutes from being cooked, drain it, saving a cup of the water.
5. Add the Penne to the Zucchini, and fry for about a minute, stirring continuously.
6. Add about 2 tablespoons of the reserved water (from the Penne) to the Zucchini/Penne mix, cover tightly, reduce the heat, and steam it for 2 minutes. If the pan starts to dry out during steaming, add more water
7. Remove the pan from the heat.
8. Coarsely chop about 2 tablespoons of mint. Stir it into the pasta/zucchini mixture.
9. Spoon the sauce over the pasta/zucchini/mint mixture and serve.