Zucchini Carbonara From Jamie Oliver Jamie At Home Recipes

CRISPY ZUCCHINI FLOWERS STUFFED WITH RICOTTA AND MINT

Steps:

• These stuffed zucchini flowers look and taste amazing! Make sure they're eaten straightaway, while they're still crisp and hot. If you can't get hold of any flowers you can still make the recipe using just the zucchini - it will be like an Italian tempura.
• Beat the ricotta in a bowl with the nutmeg, the Parmesan, lemon zest and most of the chopped mint and chiles. Season carefully, with salt and pepper, to taste.
• To make a lovely light batter, put the flour into a mixing bowl with a good pinch of salt. Pour in the white wine and whisk until thick and smooth. At this point the consistency of the batter should be like heavy cream or, if you dip your finger in, it should stick to your finger and nicely coat it. If it's too thin, add a bit more flour; if it's too thick, add a little more wine.
• Open the zucchini flowers up gently, keeping them attached to the zucchini, and snip off the pointed stamen inside because these taste bitter. Give the flowers a gentle rinse if you like.
• With a teaspoon, carefully fill each flower with the ricotta mixture. Or, as I prefer to do, spoon the ricotta into the corner of a sandwich bag. Snip 1/2-inch off the corner and use this as a makeshift piping bag to gently squeeze the filling into each flower, until just full. Carefully press the flowers back together around the mixture to seal it in. Then put the flowers aside. (Any leftover ricotta can be smeared on hot crostini as a snack!)
• Now for the deep-frying bit. Get everyone out of the way if you can and make sure there are no kids around. Have tongs or a spider ready for lifting the flowers out of the oil, and a plate with a double layer of paper towels on it for draining. Pour the oil into a deep fat fryer or large deep saucepan so it's about 4 inches deep. Heat it up to 350 degrees F or, if using a saucepan, put in your piece of potato. As soon as the potato turns golden, floats to the surface and starts to sizzle, the oil is just about the right temperature. Remove the potato from the pan.
• One by one, dip the zucchini with their ricotta-stuffed flowers into the batter, making sure they're completely covered, and gently let any excess drip off. Carefully release them, away from you, into the hot oil. Quickly batter another 1 or 2 flowers and any small zucchini (or parsley) leaves if you have any - but don't crowd the pan too much otherwise they'll stick together. Fry until golden and crisp all over, then lift them out of the oil and drain on the paper towels. Remove to a plate or board and sprinkle with a good pinch of salt and the remaining chile and mint. Serve with half a lemon to squeeze over. Bloody delicious. Eat them quick!
• "Our agreement with the producers of "Jamie at Home" only permit us to make 2 recipes per episode available online. Food Network regrets the inconvenience to our viewers and foodnetwork.com users"

BEAUTIFUL ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• Place a large frying pan on a high heat with 1 tablespoon of oil. Peel and lightly squash the garlic clove and add to the pan, moving it around to perfume the oil. Slice the guanciale into rough 1-centimeter (3/8-inch) chunks and add to the pan to let the fat render out. Trim the zucchini, halve lengthways, then chop into 2-centimeter (3/4-inch) chunks. Stir into the pan, then season with a little sea salt and a good pinch of black pepper. Halve or quarter the tomatoes, deseed, and add to the pan. Pick, roughly chop and add the parsley leaves.
• Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 15 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally. This gives you a really fresh, delicious zucchini dish full of life, just how Nonna Maria made it. Or you can turn the heat down lower and cook it for 40 minutes, so you get a deeper, sweeter, frumpier result, adding a splash of water to loosen, if needed. Both ways are delicious, and celebrate zucchini at their very best. Just before serving, taste and check you've got the seasoning spot on.

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.
• "Our agreement with the producers of "Jamie at Home" only permit us to make 2 recipes per episode available online. Food Network regrets the inconvenience to our viewers and foodnetwork.com users"