Courgette and mushroom pasta

What to make with courgettes from the garden for this season ? something quick, light and easy. These small perfectly formed beauties are going to marry with some button mushrooms in a quick pasta sauce with some cream friache. I use creme fraiche a lot in my cooking as it lasts so well in the fridge and has a lovely sharp twang to it that cuts the richness beautifully in sauces.

The other great thing is it uses loads of courgettes too, so when you are fighting a losing battle against your glut its a great recipe to have in your arsenal.The addition of thyme to the recipe cuts the richness of the sauce and brings a lovely herby note to the dish.

What you need 

• Courgettes - thinly sliced
• Mushrooms - finely chopped
• Olive oil
• Creme fraiche
• Fresh thyme - chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Parmesan cheese - freshly grated
• Pasta - we used penne

What you do

• Put your pasta on to cook in boiling water
• Heat a little olive oil in a large frying pan and cook the courgettes gently until softened and they are slightly golden
• Add the sliced mushrooms to the pan and continue to cook until the mushroom are tender
• Add creme fraiche to the pan and if you want a looser sauce a little of the pasta cooking water, add the fresh picked thyme 
• Season with pepper
• Remove from heat and toss in the drained pasta
• Serve topped with freshly grated parmesan and more freshly ground pepper.

I am also entering this post in Lavender and Lovage's Cooking with Herbs Challenge