This is a more accesorized, different but not better version of an average ( but great) zucchini pasta, which can be found on my blog if you are feeling more CASUAL...
This is a sexy pasta.
Every afternoon Alex and I have a converstaion, its the " whats for dinner" conversation. Today we started the convo started with squash flowers, left off in the middle with carbanora, and then ended with a more Glossy, more confident zucchini pasta which is encompassing all of the above. The glossy is the necessary involvement of the pasta water, the confident is the bits of smoky bacon, and the Zucchini is .... fried, slightly charred bits of zucchini thinly sliced.
The pasta has some heat, and it does have the structure of a carbonara as I did add cream and eggs at the very last moment which helps with our glossy structure. This is KEY to making sure your carbonara does not turn into scrambled eggs, the heat should be off when you do this.
I hope you make this, and I hope you enjoy it.
Notes
Any pasta of your chosing works for this reipe
Egg/. cream mixyure must be added at the very last moment to avoid scrambled eggs, The heat must be off when you add.
You can use pancetta or guanciale! But I just used a thick cut bacon because I live in Central Maine
You CAN substitute the fresh cayenne pepper witha teaspoon of red pepper flakes, if youre not a spice person you can opt out entirely
Serves 4
Ingredients
1/2 lb pasta of your chosing
Salt to taste
3 cloves diced garlic
Fresh ground pepper to taste
5 slices thick cut bacon or pancetta chopped
3 small zucchinis thinly sliced into rounds OR 1 latge zucchini thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup pasta water
1 diced fresh cayenne pepper ( or 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes)
2 eggs
1/2 cup cream or half and half
1 cup grated parmesean
Fill a large pot of water and set on the stove to boil.
Heat up a large sauce pan or shallow frying pan on low-medium heat, Cook your bacon until finished and golden on each side. Once bacon is done -set on a paper towel lined plate and set aside. Keep your heat on medium.
In your bacon pan, add in about 1 tabslepoon of your olive oil, or a decent glug. When your oil is hot add in your pepper and garlic and allow the garlic and pepper to become aromatic in the oil, but do not burn the garlic. Stir often, about 3-4 minutes.
Add in your thinly sliced zucchini and allow it to cook until both sides look slightly golden, keeping the heat on medium/high. Stir often do not walk away!!! Once golden lower heat to a low and wait for pasta.
Once pasta water is boiling, add in 2 tablespoons or a good pinch of salt into your pasta water and throw your pasta of choice into the water. Cook until al dente or slightly undercooked. We will finish it off in the zucchini. REMEMBER TO SAVE 1/2 a cup of the starchy water mid way through cooking. Drain and rinse pasta and set aside.
In a small bowl whisk together your eggs and cream, salt and pepper to taste, and 1/2 a cup of your parmesean until well blended. set aside.
Add in your al dente pasta to the pot of zucchini, heat should be on a low/medium, and add about 1/4 of your 1/2 cup of pasta water and mix, making sure as you are mixing that you are scraping up all of those leftover or burnt bits of bacon that got stuck to the pan. Add in your chopped bacon, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Salt to taste.
****You can add more pasta water liberally from your 1/2 cup, the idea is to create a some what sauce with pasta water as well as scraping up the pan with the water. At this point the pasta looks a bit dirty- BUT TRUST.
Remove your pan from the heat, add in your eggs, cream, and parm mixture and mix until a glossy sauce forms, adding more pasta water if necessary from your 1/2 cup. Drizzle with leftover tabslpoon of olive oil, a tablespoon of butter, mix. Your sauce should be glossed and making that yummy delicious chatty noise good pasta makes when you mix. Salt to taste.
Garnish with extra parm, black pepper and enjoy!!!
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