Courgette Carbonara Recipes

BEAUTIFUL COURGETTE CARBONARA

Steps:

• Put a large pan of salted water on to boil.
• Halve and then quarter any larger courgettes lengthways. Cut out and discard any fluffy middle bits, and slice the courgettes at an angle into pieces roughly the same size and shape as the penne. Smaller courgettes can simply be sliced finely.
• Your water will now be boiling, so add the penne to the pan and cook according to the packet instructions.
• To make your creamy carbonara sauce, separate the eggs and put the yolks into a bowl (saving the whites for another recipe). Add the cream and grate in half the Parmesan, and mix together with a fork. Season lightly with sea salt and black pepper, and put to one side.
• Heat a very large frying pan (a 35cm one is a good start - every house should have one!) and add a good splash of olive oil. Cut the pancetta or bacon into chunky lardons and fry until dark brown and crisp.
• Add the courgette slices and 2 big pinches of black pepper, not just to season but to give it a bit of a kick. Pick, chop and sprinkle in the thyme leaves (reserving any flowers), give everything a stir, so the courgettes become coated with all the lovely bacon-flavoured oil, and fry until they start to turn lightly golden and have softened slightly.
• It's very important to get this next bit right or your carbonara could end up ruined. You need to work quickly. When the pasta is cooked, drain it, reserving a little of the cooking water. Immediately, toss the pasta in the pan with the courgettes, bacon and lovely flavours, then remove from the heat and add a ladleful of the reserved cooking water and your creamy sauce. Stir together quickly. (No more cooking now, otherwise you'll scramble the eggs.)
• Get everyone around the table, ready to eat straight away. While you're tossing the pasta and sauce, grate in the rest of the Parmesan and add a little more of the cooking water if needed, to give you a silky and shiny sauce. Taste quickly for seasoning.
• If you've managed to get any courgette flowers, tear them over the top, then serve and eat immediately, as the sauce can become thick and stodgy if left too long.

BEAUTIFUL ZUCCHINI CARBONARA

Steps:

• Carbonara is a classic pasta sauce made with cream, bacon and Parmesan and is absolutely delicious. Try to buy the best ingredients you can, as that's what really helps to make this dish amazing. I'm using a flowering variegated variety of thyme but normal thyme is fine to use. When it comes to the type of pasta, you can serve carbonara with spaghetti or linguine, but I've been told by Italian mammas (who I don't argue with!) that penne is the original, so that's what I'm using in this recipe.
• Before you start cooking, it's important to get yourself a very large pan, or use a high-sided roasting pan so you can give the pasta a good toss.
• Put a large pan of salted water on to boil. Halve and then quarter any larger zucchini lengthwise. Cut out and discard any fluffy middle bits, and slice the zucchini at an angle into pieces roughly the same size and shape as the penne. Smaller zucchini can simply be sliced finely. Your water will now be boiling, so add the penne to the pan and cook according to the package instructions.
• To make your creamy carbonara sauce, put the egg yolks into a bowl, add the cream and half the Parmesan, and mix together with a fork. Season lightly with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Heat a very large frying pan (a 14-inch is a good start - every house should have one!), add a good splash of olive oil and fry the pancetta or bacon until dark brown and crisp. Add the zucchini slices and 2 big pinches of black pepper, not just to season but to give it a bit of a kick. Sprinkle in the thyme leaves, give everything a stir, so the zucchini is coated with all the lovely bacon-flavored oil, and fry until they start to turn lightly golden and have softened slightly.
• It's very important to get this next bit right or your carbonara could end up ruined. You need to work quickly. When the pasta is cooked, drain it, reserving a little of the cooking water. Immediately, toss the pasta in the pan with the zucchini, bacon and lovely flavors, then remove from the heat and add a ladleful of the reserved cooking water and your creamy sauce. Stir together quickly. (No more cooking now, otherwise you'll scramble the eggs.)
• Get everyone around the table, ready to eat straightaway. While you're tossing the pasta and sauce, sprinkle in the rest of the Parmesan and a little more of the cooking water if needed, to give you a silky and shiny sauce. Taste quickly for seasoning. If you've managed to get any zucchini flowers, tear them over the top, then serve and eat immediately, as the sauce can become thick and stodgy if left too long.
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ZUCCHINI CARBONARA

Steps:

• Make the zucchini noodles using a spiralizer (if not using pre-made noodles).
• Fry the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until just barely crisp, about 8 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. Return the pan to the stove over medium-low heat and throw in the garlic and onions. Cook until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
• Mix together the eggs, yolks, Parmesan and cream in a bowl until smooth.
• Pour in the egg mixture into the skillet with the onions and garlic, carefully stirring the whole time. Season with salt and pepper. Add the peas and bacon, stirring until it's all combined and the mixture is warmed through. Add the zucchini noodles and carefully stir so the noodles don't fall apart.
• Serve immediately with extra Parmesan and basil.

HEALTHIER VEGGIE CARBONARA

Steps:

• Put a large pan of salted water on to boil. Halve the courgettes lengthways and scoop out and discard the core, then slice the courgettes at an angle into small diagonal pieces. Put the spaghetti in the pan of boiling water and cook following pack instructions.
• To make the creamy carbonara sauce, put the egg yolks in a bowl, add half of the grated cheese, and mix with a fork. Add up to 3 tbsp water to make the sauce less thick. Season and set aside.
• Heat a large frying pan on a medium to high heat and pour in a little olive oil. Fry the courgette slices and thyme leaves with a good grinding of black pepper for a minute or two until the courgette starts to soften, then add the mushrooms. Fry for 2-3 mins until golden and slightly softened. For the last minute of the cooking, add the garlic.
• Working quickly, drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water. Toss the pasta in the pan with the courgettes and mushrooms, then remove from the heat and add a ladleful of the reserved cooking water and the egg and cheese sauce. Add the fresh parsley, if using, and the lemon zest and juice, then sprinkle over most of the remaining cheese. Stir everything together quickly to coat the pasta. The egg will cook if the pasta is still hot. If you're worried about it, put back on the heat for 1 min.
• Pour in a little more of the cooking water, if needed. You should have a silky and shiny sauce. Season to taste, then sprinkle with a little more cheese to serve. Eat straight away, as the sauce can become thick and stodgy if left for too long.

ZUCCHINI CARBONARA

Steps:

• In a large skillet or braiser, heat oil, garlic, and pancetta over medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pancetta is just crisp, about 5 minutes. Add zucchini; season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, whisk together egg, yolk, cheese, and lemon zest. Season with a pinch of salt and several grinds of pepper. Cook spaghetti in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente (about 1 minute shy of package instructions). Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain.
• Slowly whisk 2 tablespoons hot pasta water into egg mixture, then transfer pasta and egg mixture to skillet. Cook over medium heat, tossing vigorously and adding more pasta water as needed, 1/4 cup at a time, until sauce is silky and thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in basil; season to taste. Serve, topped with more cheese.

CREAMY COURGETTE & BACON PASTA

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and sizzle the pancetta or bacon for about 5 mins until starting to crisp. Turn up the heat and add the grated courgette to the pan. Cook for 5 mins or until soft and starting to brown then add the garlic and cook for a minute longer. Season and set aside.
• Cook the tagliatelle according to the pack instructions and scoop out a cupful of cooking water. Drain the tagliatelle and tip into the frying pan with the bacon and courgette. Over a low heat toss everything together with the crème fraiche and half the Parmesan adding a splash of pasta water too if you need to loosen the sauce. Season to taste and serve twirled into bowls with the remaining Parmesan scattered over.