PrintDinner Tonight: Penne with Zucchini, Mozzarella and Eggs
Most of my experience with tossing raw eggs on pasta revolves around pasta carbonara, one of my very favorite meals. I eat it a lot. Because it requires only some eggs, bacon, and pasta, it is my go-to meal when the fridge is running low. What makes it great is not just the ingredients, but how they are added. When tossed in at the last minute that raw egg yolk lovingly coats every strand of pasta in a perfect, luscious sauce. When I saw this recipe I got very excited—here was another recipe that added the egg at the end. What kind of wonders would it hold?
I picked this from my old standby, The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces, a book that has served me very well before. But maybe it’s the simplicity of the carbonara that I love, because this one got a little carried away. The zucchinis were right on, but maybe there was too much mozzarella. I couldn’t really taste the egg. The dish was heavy instead of luscious, an important difference. Not a bad variant on mac and cheese, though.
Penne with Zucchini, Mozzarella and Eggs
- makes 4 servings -
Ingredients
1 pound penne
2 pounds zucchini
5 ounces olive oil
2 ounces parmesan, grated
8 ounces mozzarella, cubed
2 eggs
Salt and pepper
Procedure
1. Slice the zucchini into 1/4 inch rounds.
2. Pour the oil into a frying pan and heat to medium. Fry the zucchini for a few minutes until bright green and just soft. Transfer the pieces to a paper towel to drain and salt them. Keep the oil.
3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the penne and cook for however long the box says.
4. When the pasta is cooked, quickly drain, and then dump back in the empty pasta pot. Dump in the mozzarella and stir until the cheese starts to cover the pasta. Crack in the eggs and add the zucchini. Stir until incorporated. Add a tablespoon or so of the leftover olive oil if needed. Then dump in the grated cheese, and season with salt and pepper.
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8 Comments:
Sounds great...as a late summer pasta. Why are you cooking with zucchini in the dead of winter?
twostars4arms at 4:50PM on 02/13/08
It's a beaut. Simple to make, good to eat -- that's what we all want sometimes.
levinedym at 6:49PM on 02/13/08
What a fantastic pic!
Kerosena at 9:29PM on 02/13/08
as to cooking with zucchini, in winter: some of us do not have the luxury of a green market and are at the mercy of a plain old grocery store. zucchini is one vegetable that is not that different in winter than summer. i hate to sound testy, but seasonal food nazis sometimes get on my last nerves. personally, i don't want to eat turnips out of my root cellar all winter and don't feel bad about buying a few zucchini in february.
carriebwc at 10:42AM on 02/14/08
What do you suppose would happen if one added another egg or two and cut the mozzarella to 4 or 6 ounces? The heaviness might also be mitigated by decreasing the olive oil; 5 ounces seems excessive. Also, I suspect that this dish would be improved by a bit of lemon zest/juice, which would brighten its flavors.
annatr at 11:09AM on 02/14/08
Hehehe. I made some carbonara this week too! I opted for something a little healthier than the original since it was a weeknight.
bitchincamero at 11:54AM on 02/14/08
how well do we think this would reheat? Would it lose a lot since the egg would overcook?
mh330 at 9:34AM on 02/18/08
just made this and i have to say i'm disappointed. very bland -- had to add more than salt and pepper to make it palatable. good texture though... i will use this technique (the egg at the end) in the future, with more flavorful ingredients.
mh330 at 8:07PM on 02/25/08