When we heard that Meghan Markle describes her pasta sauce as a “filthy, sexy mush,” we knew we had to introduce it to our tastebuds. During an interview with Delish, Meghan dished on what she eats during an average day, and casually dropped a mind-blowing pasta sauce hack in the process. She learned to make the sexy sauce from a friend, who told her that if you slow-cook chopped zucchini for at least four hours, it turns into a saucy mush that pairs perfectly with pasta. We were skeptical.
According to the duchess, “The sauce gets so creamy, you’d swear there’s tons of butter and oil in it, but it’s just zucchini, water, and a little bouillon.” Uh-huh, sure… Honestly, our hopes weren’t high, but that didn’t stop us from trying out this meal fit for a royal.
Delish actually created a recipe based on what Meghan told them, but they added a few extra ingredients (onions, lemon, red pepper flakes). Instead, we wanted to solely use what Meghan mentioned during her interview — with a bit of parmesan on top, because she described an average dinner at her house as pasta with zucchini, lots of parm, and a glass of wine. Who are we to argue with a cheese topping?
Preparing the Sexy Sauce: Attempt #1
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
6 small/medium zucchini, chopped into cubes
1/2 cup water
1 veggie bouillon cube
3/4 lb. rigatoni
salt and pepper, to taste
fresh parmesan, to taste
Senior Editor Anna here 😉 I don’t own a slow-cooker and have little patience, so the idea of this dish taking five hours to cook left me feeling angsty. Fortunately, I was free this past Sunday, so I left the dish cooking and covered on the stove, stirring whenever I remembered it was there, while cleaning the house. I modified Delish’s recipe, throwing only zucchini, water, salt and pepper, and a bouillon cube in a pot after allowing a bit of olive oil to heat up. I used a veggie cube because I’m vegetarian and fortunately, it added a ton of flavor.
As the dish continued cooking on low, the zucchini fell apart, and I began to enjoy the process of meal prep. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Maybe I should buy a crockpot?
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The Sexy Outcome: Attempt #1
Before it even touched my tongue, I could tell that the sauce was flavorful. It made my kitchen smell amazing, like my grandma’s. Once the zucchini turned into a sexy mush, after about 5 hours, I added a bit of parmesan, cooked the pasta, and combined the two. I didn’t have too much trouble spreading the sauce, though it’s definitely not a traditional “liquidy” concoction. I sprinkled in a bit more salt and pepper, and topped the dish with, you guessed it, more cheese.
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The is one of the best pasta sauces I’ve ever had. I was so proud of my efforts that I invited my partner over, to show him that I can in fact work a stove, and he also loved the pasta. Weirdly enough, I found myself craving it the next day at work — I couldn’t wait to get home and be reunited with my now-beloved sexy sauce.
Preparing the Sexy Sauce: Attempt #2
3 very large zucchinis
1 cup of water
1 Tbsp vegetable base (I didn’t have a bouillon cube)
Half a box of penne pasta
Shredded parmesan, to taste
Hi, hello. Editor In Chief here. I, too, tried Meghan Markle’s “sexy” pasta recipe, but since I went grocery shopping too late in the day, I only ended up cooking my zucchini for two hours instead of the recommended five. Did it still work? Yes, but maybe not as well as it could have. Did it taste great? Read on to find out!
I stayed true to how Meghan describes making this pasta. No added oil or butter, just straight zucchini and vegetable stock to taste (I would have used chicken stock, but I ran out). I am a Meghan Markle sexy pasta purist. I cut up the zucchini into medallions and threw them into a dutch oven, setting the heat on medium. After a few minutes, I heard sizzling, and was dismayed to find out the zucchini was sticking to the pan. “No!” I cried, adding water and putting the heat on low, which didn’t burn everything to a crisp.
While the zucchini cooked, I watched The Staircase on Netflix (low-cal pasta meals + murder = best way to spend your Sunday). After about twenty minutes, I added the base and mushed the zucchini down to a sauce-like consistency, and it stayed that way for about two hours. I stirred the “sauce” every fifteen minutes or so, just to make sure it wasn’t burning. Around 9 p.m., my husband started complaining that he had to go to bed soon and please can we have dinner already, so I went ahead and started boiling pasta. It had only been about two-and-a-half hours, but the sauce seemed sauce-y enough, and smelled amazing.
The Sexy Outcome: Attempt #2
Instead of “pouring” the zucchini sauce onto a bowl of pasta, it kinda plopped. As in, the sauce was not very liquid-y, despite the water content from the zucchinis themselves and the added water. Mixing the sauce into the pasta proved a little difficult, too. It didn’t function as well as a tomato sauce does. I think cooking the zucchini for another few hours may have helped with the texture and consistency. Maybe I didn’t quite reach “sexy, filthy mush” levels yet, but maybe someday.
HOWEVER, the sexy pasta tasted trés yummy. The zucchini with veggie base and a shy sprinkle of parmesan (I just thought to myself, does Meghan really go ham on parmesan? Probably not) created a colossal amount of flavor. It was delicious. I didn’t have wine to pair, like how Meghan suggests, so I had a Diet Cherry Pepsi. Close enough. Anyway, my verdict? Meghan is not out of her mind. Zucchini pasta is sexy as heck, and I feel like I can speak for both me and Anna that we both will be making it again.
