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Cooking adventures in a small, closet sized, kitchen. - I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.

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Zucchini Carbonara

[heart_this] · Jul 25, 2007 · 21 Comments

Zucchini Carbonara

I have really been enjoying the courgettes or zucchini so far this year. I was wondering how I could in corporate them into a pasta dish. I was looking in my fridge trying to find some inspiration when I saw some left over bacon. What could be better than a simple zucchini and bacon carbonara sauce? This dish was really amazing. I think the trick was to use the bacon fat to fry the zucchini rather than using oil. I will definitely be adding this recipe to my list of favorites.

Zucchini Carbonara

Zucchini Carbonara

Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Servings: 2
ingredients
  • 4 ounces penne (gluten free for gluten free)
  • 4 slices bacon (sliced)
  • 2 medium zucchini
  • 1 clove garlic (chopped)
  • pepper to taste
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano
  • 1 tablespoon parsley (chopped)
directions
  1. Start cooking the penne.
  2. Fry the bacon in a pan.
  3. Cut the zucchini into penne shaped pieces.
  4. Drain most of the fat from the pan but reserve some to cook the zucchini.
  5. Add the zucchini, garlic and pepper and toss to coat in the bacon fat.
  6. Mix the egg and parmigiano reggiano in a bowl.
  7. Drain the cooked pasta reserving some of the water.
  8. Add the pasta to the pan and toss.
  9. Remove the pan from the heat and wait for the sizzling to stop.
  10. Add the egg mixture and toss to coat.
  11. Add a bit of the pasta water and toss to mix and coat.
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Bolognese Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Fiddlehead Carbonara
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Spaghetti alla Carbonara with Peas
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Bacon, Food, Gluten-free, Italian, Main Course, Pasta, Recipe

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Valli says

    July 25, 2007 at 2:54 am

    Another great addition to Presto Pasta Nights, Kevin. I can’t wait for an overabundance of zucchini!!! By the way I grew up in Ontario in Cambridge an 1-1/2 from TO. I also lived 8 years in Oshawa before moving out west again.

    Reply
  2. marye says

    July 25, 2007 at 3:17 am

    the penne and zucchini look great like that! Nice job! I plan on trying it soon.

    Reply
  3. katiez says

    July 25, 2007 at 7:58 am

    One can hardly go wrong with bacon and heavy cream! The zucchini is just there to round it out and add color 😉

    Reply
    • Anne says

      August 3, 2018 at 12:42 pm

      I don’t see heavy cream in the recipe?!

      Reply
  4. Ruth Daniels says

    July 25, 2007 at 11:40 am

    Kevin, as usual – a great PPN addition. Thanks so much for being a great contributor to the fun.

    Reply
  5. Janet says

    July 25, 2007 at 1:06 pm

    That looks incredible. I love bacon. I was watching a cooking show the other night (can’t remember which) and the host actually kept a jar of solidified bacon drippings in his fridge to cook with. He just scooped some out and added it to the frying pan to flavour things. I thought what a dangerous idea!

    Reply
  6. The Mommy Chef says

    July 25, 2007 at 3:49 pm

    This looks so good! I have plenty of zucchini in the garden so I am definitely saving this one.Thanks!

    Reply
  7. Peter M says

    July 25, 2007 at 6:22 pm

    summer squash w/ zucchini looks good but i’ve not found any sumer squash yet.

    Reply
  8. Wendy says

    July 25, 2007 at 10:20 pm

    Wonderful. Another zucchini recipe for the file. I have a huge amount of them at the moment! My partner loves carbonara. This will make him very happy!

    Reply
  9. DeborahSW says

    July 26, 2007 at 1:39 am

    Bless you for being the type of cook who will look at a pile of veggies and think, “That needs bacon!” :)~

    Reply
  10. Patricia Scarpin says

    July 26, 2007 at 6:03 pm

    I love carbonara and I love zucchini – this dish is wonderful!

    Reply
  11. Katerina says

    July 27, 2007 at 5:33 pm

    Looks good I am also a big zucchini fan, and I like the idea of just putting them in everything.

    Reply
  12. Mochachocolata Rita says

    March 5, 2008 at 6:54 am

    oh-my-gosh…i made this for a recent v-day party…but minus the pasta…i loveee zucchini carbonara ^_^ sharing it with you 🙂

    http://mochachocolatarita.blogspot.com/2008/02/zucchini-carbonara-ala-rita.html

    Reply
  13. Paola says

    May 8, 2009 at 6:39 pm

    Hi Kevin,

    I visited your city the first part of this week. It is as beautiful as I remembered it from 30 yrs ago.

    Also, I just tried this recipe. Made it for lunch and my husband and I loved it. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  14. Jennifer says

    July 28, 2009 at 12:17 am

    I love this idea, I actually have a ton of zucchini on hand and some bacon right now. Perfect!

    Reply
  15. Sandra says

    August 26, 2009 at 9:21 pm

    Exquisite!!! My husband and I loved this dish. I made for dinner last night. It was excellent and so easy to prepare!

    Reply
  16. Anonymous says

    October 12, 2009 at 9:39 pm

    omg i just got done eating this an it was great!! the parsley really adds alot of flavor and i was surprised about the fact that you didnt need that much cream….even though i added just a lil more.. great dish !

    Reply
  17. Mommy Meredith says

    August 14, 2011 at 1:51 pm

    Loved it and it was so easy to make.

    Reply
  18. Anonymous says

    September 15, 2014 at 5:44 pm

    I am going to use this and serve over spaghetti squash —I'm going shopping today!

    Reply
  19. linda says

    August 2, 2015 at 4:29 pm

    How many will this recipe serve, 2 maybe 1?

    Reply
  20. kevin says

    August 2, 2015 at 6:16 pm

    linda: This recipe makes 2 servings. Enjoy!

    Reply

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Kevin: I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.
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