Preparation time: 10 minutes; Cooking time: 20 minutes; Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 450g (iIb) (rotini pasta) 
• 6 slices smoked bacon, finely chopped 
• 1 kg (2Ib) zucchini (courgette), coarsely grated
• 1 teaspoon cayenne or black pepper, divided
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• ½ cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano Cheese
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cook the Bacon. heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large saucepan and cook the bacon until crisp and brown. Drain off the rendered fat (if you prefer) and add the remaining olive oil. Add the zucchini and season with salt and ½ teaspoon cayenne or black pepper. Cook for 4-5 minutes over medium high heat. Add the garlic and oregano and cook for a further minute then switch off the heat.  (while bacon and zucchini are cooking the pasta water should be heating up)
2. Cook the Pasta: bring the pasta water to a boil and cook the pasta as per the packet instructions in plenty of salted water until almost al-dente. Reserve one cup pasta water and drain the pasta.
3. Toss everything together and serve: add the drained pasta to the zucchini. Season the pasta with some cayenne or black pepper and then toss everything together (you can add some reserved water to loosen the pasta a bit). If you like you can also drizzle some more olive oil. Serve the pasta immediately and top with the freshly grated Parmesan. You will need some fresh buttered or garlic bread to go along with it.
4. Please note I used Canadian bacon. You can also use pancetta, smoked sausage or  Italian sausage (without casing).

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