Zucchini Carbonara Style Pasta

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Around 6:15, when the pasta water is already boiling and I am whisking egg yolks and Pecorino together next to the stove, is exactly when zucchini carbonara style pasta earns its place in the weeknight rotation. The technique is the part that trips people up the first time: you are relying on residual heat and starchy pasta water to cook the eggs slowly, and if you rush it you get cheesy scrambled eggs tangled in spaghetti, which I can confirm from experience. I pull the skillet completely off the burner before the egg mixture goes in, and I keep a ladle of pasta water close so I can loosen the sauce as I toss. Three of my five kids eat every last strand, one tolerated it, and one declared the zucchini “slimy” and ate plain buttered noodles, which I consider a reasonable outcome for a vegetarian dinner in this house.

Why you will love this

• The sauce is egg yolks, Pecorino, and pasta water only. No cream, no butter, nothing else to buy.
• Zucchini cooks in about 5 minutes and gives the dish enough substance to feel like a real dinner.
• Everything comes together in one skillet plus the pasta pot, so cleanup is fast.
• Total time is 28 minutes, and most of that is waiting for the water to boil.
• Leftovers are honest: they reheat better than traditional carbonara because zucchini holds up where bacon would just get greasy.

Tips for success

• Take the pan completely off the heat before the egg mixture goes in. Not low heat, not the back burner. Off. The residual warmth in the pasta and the skillet is enough to cook the sauce. If the pan is still on the burner, the eggs scramble.
• Temper the eggs before they touch the pasta. Slowly whisk your reserved pasta water into the egg and Pecorino bowl first, a little at a time, until the mixture is warm and loose. This step is what turns it into a sauce.
• Toss fast and keep moving. Once the egg mixture hits the pasta, you need to toss constantly with tongs for a full minute. If you stop, the sauce will seize in spots instead of coating evenly.
• Pull your pasta water before you drain. Set a measuring cup right next to the pot while the pasta cooks so you do not forget. If you drain first and realize you skipped this step, the dish will not come together the same way.

If the sauce looks wrong

• Sauce looks grainy or curdled: the pan was probably still warm when the eggs went in. Add a small splash of cool pasta water and toss vigorously. It sometimes smooths back out.
• Sauce is too thick and clumping: add pasta water one tablespoon at a time and keep tossing. It loosens quickly.
• Sauce looks thin and watery: you added too much pasta water at once. Keep tossing off the heat for another 30 seconds. The starch in the water will tighten it as it cools slightly.
• Zucchini made the pan watery: pat the strips dry before they go in the skillet, and make sure you are cooking over medium heat, not low. Low heat steams the zucchini instead of browning it.

Substitutions

Pecorino Romano is worth using if you can find it, but Parmesan works as a straight swap. The sauce will be a little milder and less salty, so taste before you add any extra salt at the end. Spaghetti is traditional here, but linguine or bucatini both hold the sauce well. If you want to use a vegetable peeler instead of a knife, long zucchini ribbons are a good alternative to julienned strips and cook in about the same time.

For anyone avoiding dairy, you can stir a tablespoon of nutritional yeast into the egg mixture and skip the Pecorino. The sauce will be less rich and more savory than cheesy, but it still coats the pasta. This dish is not easy to make egg-free since the yolks are the sauce, so I would point you toward a different recipe if that is the constraint you are working around.

Make-ahead and storage

You can julienne the zucchini and whisk together the egg, yolks, Pecorino, and pepper up to a day ahead. Store them separately in the refrigerator and bring the egg mixture to room temperature before you start cooking. The pasta itself needs to be cooked fresh and eaten right away. Carbonara sets as it sits, and even 10 minutes in the bowl changes the texture.

If you do have leftovers, keep them in the refrigerator for up to one day. Reheat in a skillet over low heat with a very small splash of water, stirring the whole time. It will not be quite the same as it was fresh, but it is still good. Do not freeze this one. The egg sauce breaks when it thaws.

Brittany Stage

Zucchini Carbonara Style Pasta

Thin zucchini strips take the place of guanciale in this vegetarian carbonara-style pasta, where egg yolks and Pecorino Romano create a silky, creamy sauce without a drop of cream. Timing and temperature are the only two things you need to get right.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 18 minutes mins

Total Time 28 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian American

Calories: 520

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 12 oz spaghetti or linguine
• 3 medium zucchini cut into thin strips or julienned, about 3 inches long
• 4 large egg yolks room temperature
• 1 large whole egg room temperature
• 1 cup Pecorino Romano finely grated, plus more for serving
• 1 tsp black pepper coarsely cracked, plus more to taste
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt for the zucchini
• 1/3 cup pasta cooking water reserved, this is critical for the sauce

Equipment

• large pot
• large wide skillet or saute pan
• medium mixing bowl
• tongs or pasta fork
• box grater or microplane
• colander

Method

 

1. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. While it heats, whisk together the egg yolks, the whole egg, the grated Pecorino, and the cracked black pepper in a medium bowl until smooth and combined. Set this bowl near the stove where it is warm but not hot.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large wide skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until it smells fragrant and turns pale gold. Do not let it brown or it will turn bitter.
3. Add the zucchini strips to the pan in a single layer if possible. Sprinkle with the salt. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, tossing occasionally with tongs, until the strips are tender and a few edges have a little color. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
4. Drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook until just al dente, about 1 to 2 minutes less than the package says. Before draining, scoop out at least 1/3 cup of the starchy pasta water and add it slowly to your egg and Pecorino bowl, whisking constantly. This tempers the eggs and helps them become a sauce rather than scramble later.
5. Drain the pasta and immediately add it to the skillet with the zucchini. The pan should be completely off the heat. Toss the pasta with the zucchini for about 30 seconds using tongs so it picks up any remaining oil and the pan cools just slightly.
6. Pour the egg and cheese mixture over the pasta. Toss quickly and constantly with the tongs. Add a tablespoon of the reserved pasta water at a time, tossing between each addition, until the sauce becomes glossy and clings to every strand of pasta. This usually takes 2 to 3 tablespoons of pasta water and about 1 minute of steady tossing.
7. Taste and add more cracked pepper or a pinch of salt if needed. Divide into warm bowls right away. Carbonara sets up as it sits, so do not let it wait. Top with more Pecorino and a generous crack of black pepper at the table.

Notes

The single most important step in this recipe is removing the pan from the heat before adding the egg mixture. The pasta is hot enough to cook the sauce through residual heat. Any active flame underneath will scramble the eggs and ruin the silky texture you are going for.

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