Description
This creamy, zucchini carbonara recipe is made with pasta, zucchini noodles, eggs, cheese and crispy bacon with an easy, off-heat technique to ensure a perfect silky sauce every time. Room temperature eggs are a must to create a silky, cohesive sauce. If you don’t have Pecorino cheese, all Parmesan can be used instead. You’ll need a julienne peeler for the zucchini. I use this one.
Ingredients
- 8 oz (225 g) squared spaghetti (e.g., Rummo brand No. 221)
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- 4 oz (85 g) thick-cut bacon (e.g., True Story Heritage Breed)
- 1 large whole egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/3 cup (40 g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup (40 g) freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 2 medium zucchini, julienned with a hand-peeler
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- 1 tbsp. chopped chives, plus more to garnish
Instructions
- Bring a medium-sized pot of water to a boil. Season with salt. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions; do not drain. Reserve 1 cup of the starchy pasta cooking water to emulsify the carbonara sauce. You won’t need all of it.
- Meanwhile, cut the bacon into bite-sized pieces, about 1/4-inch.
- Pour the olive oil into a 5 qt. enamel braiser or a large, high sided sauté pan. Add the bacon. Sauté until golden and crisp, about 5-10 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate using a slotted spoon. Remove the pan from the heat; pour the bacon drippings into a large mixing bowl. Cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
- Add the whole egg, egg yolks, and the grated cheeses to the bowl. Mix until a smooth paste forms. Add a few grinds of black pepper.
- When the pasta is ready, transfer with tongs to the egg mixture bowl allowing some of the cooking water to cling to the pasta strands. Toss immediately to coat the pasta. Now, you need to work fast: add the julienned zucchini (one handful at a time) while vigorously tossing to coat. The zucchini will begin to wilt from the residual heat releasing a bit of moisture into the bowl.
- Once everything is nicely coated, pour the entire mixture back into the braiser pot (off heat) and keep tossing. The mixture will continue to thicken. Toss! Toss! Toss! Note: If the sauce seems too thick, add a splash of the reserved pasta cooking water (about 1 tbsp. at a time) to loosen the sauce. The texture should look creamy but not too thick.
- Taste and season with salt and a pepper, if needed. Add the cooked bacon and the chives.
- To serve, portion the pasta onto warm plates. Top with extra black pepper and chives. Serve immediately.
