Courgette ‘Carbonara’
Tongue firmly in cheek, on no account can you call this pasta dish carbonara. It has no fatty cured pork, and rather a lot of shredded courgettes instead, but here to throw caution to the wind and say, the principal is the same. Using raw egg yolks with lots of grated parmesan (classic carbonara combines both pecorino and parmesan, so I am told) and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper added to the firmly al dente pasta to cooking, plus plenty of sloshes of pasta cooking water creates a luxurious, silky, glossy barely there sauce that clings to the pasta. The trick to not having ribbons of curdled egg in amongst the hot pasta is to act fast, with confidence (trust the process!) and to use an all important 1st ladleful of the hot salty pasta cooking water beaten into the eggs yolks, pepper and cheese in a bowl then add this mix to the pasta, and then you can add more pasta cooking water until the desired consistency. Watch the reel to accompany this recipe and you’ll see the process in full.
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INGREDIENTS
To feed 4
1 packet of bucatini pasta, or use any long pasta shape
2 firm large courgettes, shredded into ribbons
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 lemon, zest and juice
Small bunch of basil, leaves cut into ribbons
80g freshly grated parmesan
2 eggs yolks (save the white for another use)
Salt and lots of freshly cracked black pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
METHOD
Have a large pan of well salted water on to boil.
In a large frying pan, add the olive oil and garlic and fry over moderate heat for 1 - 2 minutes. Add the courgettes and big pinch of salt. Fry for 3 or so minutes, to soften and for any liquids evaporate.
Boil the pasta to firmly al dente as per packet instructions.
In a small bowl, add the egg yolks, 3/4 of the parmesan and lots and lots of black pepper.
Have the two pans next to each and work quickly here, with the pasta nearly ready, add a ladleful of the hot salty pasta cooking water to the eggs in the bowl, whisk in quickly to incorporate.
Using kitchen tongues, add the pasta to the courgettes in the pan. Quickly add the egg mixture, remove the pan from the heat, and beat confidently to combine. Add another ladleful of the pasta cooking water, beat confidently to combine again. Add the remaining parmesan, basil, lemon zest and juice of 1/2 the lemon, check the consistency, does it need another ladleful of the salty, hot pasta cooking water? Mine did. Keep moving the pasta around in the pan, for the eggs to carry on cooking, creating a silky, rich sauce.
Serve with more parmesan and black pepper at the table.