My Chouchoux: Zucchini and Wild Mushroom Carbonara 櫛瓜與野生菇Carbonara義大利麵

When it comes to pasta sauce, strangely, I’m not such a big fan of most tomato-based sauces. Instead, I’m more of a creamy sauce kind of person, but let’s face it, most of the creamy pasta sauces tend to be a bit rich. Carbonara is a good example. It often contains cream and a lot of cheese. Of course, there are ways to make vegan versions of it, but I still prefer to use real dairy.

This recipe is inspired by Jamie Oliver’s “Zucchini Carbonara” from his book, Jamie at Home. I love how the zucchini is cut in this recipe. It looks so pretty paired with penne, ziti, or gemelli since the shape of the zucchini pieces are similar to the pasta. They really blend together nicely visually and in terms of texture as well. Plus, I love how the core of the zucchini is removed, so during the cooking process, it doesn’t release as much water. It’s a recipe that I’ve always come back to every late summer, but over time, I developed a lighter way of making it.

In my carbonara recipe here, not only did I leave off the bacon, which is typically used in carbonara, but I also made the sauce lighter by using less eggs and cheese, and substituted the cream with yogurt. It’s still creamy, but without being rich. So if you try to avoid using much dairy, like me, and at the same time, you’re not quite ready to go vegan, this simple, fast and delicious late summer recipe will satisfy your every need!

很多人喜歡的義大利麵大多是蕃茄醬口味或肉醬類的，而我這個怪胎卻ㄧ向比較偏愛白醬或奶油醬類口味的義大利麵，但是這種醬類大多也都會比較油膩些，如Carbonara (奶油培根義大利麵) 就是其中的一個例子。它的做法有很多種，不過大致上來說經典的醬汁中成份都含有培根、鮮奶油和許多的起司。當然，若是真的要吃全素的也是有比較健康的作法，只是對我來說，吃起來還是不如傳統的口味來的好吃。

這個食譜的靈感其實是來自於Jamie Oliver的 Jamie at Home 書裡面的「櫛瓜與培根蛋黃義大利麵」食譜，我很喜歡他將櫛瓜切成斜條狀，與條狀或管狀的義大利麵(gemelli, penne, 或ziti)搭在一起，不管在視覺上或是口感上都非常適合又漂亮。而且將櫛瓜心的部分去掉，在烹煮的過程中也不會有太多水份跑出來，不會讓櫛瓜變的又軟又爛。這是每個夏季末我都會做來吃的義大利麵食譜，時間久了，我慢慢依照自已的飲食習慣與需求在食譜上做了些改變。

在我的食譜裡，除了不使用培根之外，我也將蛋與起司的份量減少而以優格來代替鮮奶油。雖然我的做法與ㄧ般精典的培根蛋黃義大利麵大有不同，但那醬汁還是非常濃郁又美味，又不會感覺太rich。如果你像我一樣，想在飲食中儘量避免用上太多的蛋奶成份，你將會愛上這個簡易、不油膩又好吃的義大利麵食譜！

Zucchini and wild mushroom carbonara (2 servings)

1/3 C dried wild mushrooms

2 large zucchini (You may mix with summer squash, like I did here)

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 t fresh thyme leaves

4 oz/115 g gemelli, ziti or penne

A: 1/2 egg, beaten

1/4 C greek yogurt

2 T grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 t sea salt

cooking oil (grapeseed oil, canola oil, or avocado oil)

more grated Parmesan cheese to serve

sea salt and black pepper

extra virgin olive oil

a small handful of fresh basil leaves

*T = tablespoon, t = teaspoon, C = cup

1. In a small bowl, cover the dried mushrooms with water and let them soak for 20-30 minutes until soft.

2. Rinsed the soaked mushrooms well. Drain and set them aside.

3. Halve and then quarter the zucchini lengthwise. Trim off the fluffy middle part, and slice it diagonally Into 1/4” thick slices. While preparing the vegetables, bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil.

4. In a small bowl, mix ingredients A together with a whisk.

5. When the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook according to the package instructions.

6. In the meanwhile, in a large sauté pan (about 14”), heat 2 t of cooking oil, add zucchini and cook for 1 minute. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook for another 2 minutes until the zucchini starts to turn slightly golden brown, but not too soft. By this time, the pasta should be cooked. Drain it while saving 1/3 C of your cooking water. *Try to time everything well, so that the pasta will be ready around the same time the zucchini is cooked. Otherwise, the zucchini might be overcooked by the time the pasta is ready or the pasta may be too soft.

7. Turn the heat off. Add ingredients A, pasta, and the reserved pasta water (add 1/2 amount first), and toss everything together for 1-2 minutes until all the pasta is coated with sauce. Adjust seasoning with some course sea salt and black pepper (don’t make it too salty since more Parmesan will be added!). Add a bit more pasta water if necessary.

8. Transfer the pasta onto two individual plates. Drizzle with a bit of extra virgin olive oil, more Parmesan cheese, and basil. If you like lemon and happen to have some, you may drizzle a bit of lemon juice and grate some zest over the pasta as well. Serve and enjoy the pasta right away!

Variations:

1. With bacon: If you prefer the traditional carbonara. Add 2-3 thick pieces of bacon (cut into 1/2” wide pieces). Cook it until crisp before adding the zucchini. This will definitely add more flavour and texture!

2. With cocktail tomatoes: For some vibrant colour, add some sliced cocktail tomatoes onto the pasta as a garnish. (See photo below)

- Yvonne