VEGETARIAN CARBONARA with zucchini

Today vegetarian Carbonara! I love traditional Carbonara, but sometimes I opt for a more light and healthy version. Zucchini pair greatly with eggs and Pecorino Romano cheese. Grated lemon skin give a tasty touch of freshness. Zucchini have to be chopped big enough to be cooked until golden brown but not mushy. The main question is: creamy or not creamy? For Italian people there is an only question: creamy. If the yolks coagulate, for us sounds like a disaster! For this reason I suggest to use only trusted, super fresh eggs, or pasteurized.

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• 5 oz (350 g) spaghetti
• 2 medium zucchini
• 1 whole egg
• 6 yolks
• 3 cloves of garlic
• ½ tbsp fresh parsley
• ½ tsp lemon skin
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tbsp Pecorino Romano cheese
• 1 tsp black pepper
• to taste table salt
• 5 tbsp cooking salt

STIR FRIED ZUCCHINI

Pour the oil in a pan big enough to sauté spaghetti when cooked. Place the pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoky, sauté garlic, peeled and crushed. Meanwhile, rinse zucchini, cut in quarters, then chop into pieces thick about ¼ inch. Discard the garlic when golden brown, and stir-fry zucchini over medium/high heat until golden, but not mushy. Salt zucchini as needed.

YOLKS SAUCE

Bring to boil 5 quarter of water into a pot, then salt with 5 tbsp of cooking salt. Cook spaghetti. Meanwhile crack the eggs (best if pasteurized in order to avoid any food-borne illness) and pour 1 whole egg and 6 yolks in a bowl, along with minced parsley ground black pepper and 7 pinches of table salt. Beat the eggs, the add 2 tbsp of Pecorino Romano and grated lemon skin. Beat the mixture until consistent.

VEGETARIAN CARBONARA

Raise spaghetti “al dente”. Sautè pasta with zucchini a couple of mins over high heat, stirring continuously. Place the pan far from heat. Now, the most delicate step. Yolks start to coagulate on 149° F, so to obtain a creamy sauce, pour the egg sauce when pasta reach 140°, stirring continuously. This step will be easy with the experience, but if it is the first time you try this recipe, consider to use a thermometer. Just when the spaghetti are well seasoned, pour the spaghetti into the dishes, complete with the remaining Pecorino Romano. Serve vegetarian carbonara immediately.

TAKE A LOOK AT THIS

TRADITIONAL SPAGHETTI WITH CHERRY TOMATOES garlic and basil

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