This recipe for a creamy lemon courgette pasta is the freshest, easiest pasta. So delicious, so speedy and takes just 6 ingredients to make the sauce (then you also need pasta and salt & pepper of course!)
It takes 15 minutes, making it a perfect weeknight option, and it is vegetarian. The creamy aspect comes from the eggs and pecorino, making this almost like a carbonara but definitely not a traditional one. But the principle of the sauce is the same. So yummy and perfect as we (hopefully) enter into some more spring-like days soon.
What you will need for Creamy Courgette Lemon Pasta
Courgettes – slicing these with a julienne peeler makes long thin noodles that twirl around the fork with the linguine. Courgettes are in season from June to October so are at their best then.
Pecorino – pecorino is a sheep’s cheese that is similar to parmesan although has a slightly different flavour – it’s a bit more intense. Use parmesan if that is what you have on hand.
Eggs – instead of using cream, this courgette pasta uses eggs beaten with cheese and some pasta water to create a silky sauce. It makes it much less heavy and rich than using cream.
Linguine – use whatever shape you like but this silky sauce and long thin courgette strips do lend work well with a long shape so linguine is great
Lemon – adds a needed freshness to the otherwise creamy sauce. It also is a great flavour pairing with courgette.
Basil – if you want basil to last longer than 1 day, trim the stems and place in a cup with around 1-2cm of water in the bottom. Cover the basil in the cup with a sandwich bag and seal the edges around the cup. Leave at room temperature and it will last a good week!
Garlic – as we’ve said before, no pasta feels complete without garlic. The garlic works really well with lemony flavour in this creamy pasta
Frequently Asked Questions
If you don’t have a julienne peeler, quarter the courgette lengthways and use a normal vegetable peeler to create ribbons of courgette. If you have a spiraliser, that would also work.
As the eggs are raw and mixed with hot pasta, you can risk scrambling them if you’re not careful and then you lose the silky sauce. To ensure this doesn’t happen, firstly, adding a ladle of pasta water to the egg mixture brings up the temperature of the eggs so that they aren’t cold when they hit the hot pasta which creates more chance of scrambling. Secondly, I remove the pan from the heat and then add the egg mixture, beating well, which means that the pan isn’t as hot to risk scrambling.
If you do want to add meat, adding crispy bacon would be good. Fry the bacon then add the garlic and courgette to the pan as the recipe states. Otherwise, this is a delicious vegetarian recipe.
Other pasta recipes you might enjoy
Caramelised Onion & Brown Butter Pasta
Creamy Lemon Pasta (no courgettes)
PrintCreamy Lemon Courgette Pasta
This creamy lemon courgette pasta is almost like a carbonara with the eggs but it definitely isn’t traditional. Delicious, yes!
- Prep Time: 15 minute
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients
- 1 large courgette, sliced into thin noodles with a julienne peeler
- 200g linguine
- 3 garlic, finely sliced
- ½ large bunch basil, finely sliced, keep any smaller leaves to garnish
- About 80g pecorino or use parmesan
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- Zest of ½ lemon, or use more to taste
- 2 eggs, beaten
Instructions
- In a pan over medium heat, sauté garlic for 30 seconds, then add courgette and cook for 2-3 mins more until soft but not coloured. Makes sure to season well.
- Get a large pot of salted water on to boil and add the linguine when boiling. Cook until al dente. You want it to still have quite a bit of bite to it when you remove it from the water as it will finish cooking in the sauce. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and add most of the cheese, reserving about a handful. Add 1 ladle of pasta cooking water to egg mix and mix well.
- Once cooked, add the pasta to the courgettes in the pan. Toss it all together and then turn off the heat. Pour in the egg mixture and give it a really good stir. Add more pasta cooking water to form a sauce and it will thicken slightly. Add the remaining cheese, basil and lemon zest and give it a final toss.
- Scoop into plates and serve with a little more cheese and a few basil leaves for garnish.
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