Zucchini, Mushroom + Dill Pasta Bake
I’ve been working on this recipe off-and-on for about 2 years. I wanted a vegetarian pasta bake that felt indulgent but not heavy, and I wanted to lean into my love of jammy zucchini. I wanted to steer away from a more obvious Italian flavor profile, but it took me awhile to land here.
In my view, dill is a deeply underrated herb, and it’s a tragedy that in so many homes it only appears for use in pickles, potato salad, and tzatziki. One of my personal favorite flavor combinations is balsamic and dill, and I’m leaning fully into that with a probably-sacrilegious version of a bechamel sauce that incorporates either white wine or balsamic, depending on your preference.
Reasons I love this recipe:
The mushrooms, cooked with onions, are deeply flavorful and bring an added umami so you don’t miss the meat. The zucchini is golden and jammy, and both of these get tossed with some lemon before rejoining the sauce you’ll make (all in the same pan!)
If you use balsamic, the sauce is a sweet and tangy bechamel that beautifully coats the noodles and pairs so well with the dill. If you choose to make it with white wine, the dill stands out even more and the sauce is a bit more subtle. I should have chosen just one for simplicity’s sake, but they’re both fantastic and you deserve to know that you have options!
Finally: the cheesy, golden top layer of noodles. Is there anything better in the world? I think not.
Zucchini, Mushroom + Dill Pasta Bake
INGREDIENTS
1 small yellow onion, diced
8 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
3 large zucchini, cut in half and sliced on the thickest mandolin setting
2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
Salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste
2 teaspoons lemon juice
¼ cup dry white wine or balsalmic (see note 1)
3 Tablespoons butter
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon dried dill
1 ½ cup milk or half and half
3 Tablespoons flour
1 cup shredded parmesan
½ cup shredded mozzarella
8 - 16 oz pasta (I like rigatoni or penne) (see note 2)
DIRECTIONS:
Cook pasta to just shy of al dente and set aside
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot or over medium heat. Add the onions and cook about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the mushrooms and ½ teaspoon salt and cook until the water in the mushrooms has released and cooked off, about 7 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
Now is a good time to pre-heat your oven to 400ºF.
Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Once hot, add the zucchini and ½ teaspoon EACH of salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes and cook for about 10 minutes. Don’t move the zucchini too much - flip the layers as needed every few minutes so it all gets soft and browned. Transfer the zucchini to the bowl with the mushrooms. Add lemon juice and stir.
Over medium low heat, add white wine OR balsamic to the warm pan. Melt butter and add garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes until soft and fragrant. Add dill and stir. Add flour and stir until absorbed. Add milk and stir continuously until the sauce thickens and no lumps remain. Remove from heat.
Add mozzarella and ¼ cup parmesan to the sauce and stir. Add the vegetables and pasta, and mix until combined. Taste for salt. Transfer to an oven-safe dish (see note 2), top with remaining parmesan, and bake at 400ºF for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden and bubbly.
NOTES + VARIATIONS:
White wine creates a milder, more subtle sauce, whereas the balsamic will sweeten and start to create a glaze and comes through tangier at the end.
You can use anywhere from 8 - 16 ounces of pasta, depending on your desired veggie-to-carb ratio, and not adjust anything else in the recipe. If using 8 oz, transfer to a 2 quart pan; if using 16 oz, transfer to a 3 quart pan.
If you desperately want to add protein to this, I’d recommend Italian sausage. Brown in first in the same pot you’ll use for the rest of the recipe, drain off the fat (or use 1 Tablespoon of fat instead of olive oil for the onions), and add it to the medium bowl to await the softened vegetables.
