Creamy Courgette & Bacon Pasta
This Creamy Shredded Courgette Pasta is destined to be one of your new favourite pasta dishes!
Servings: 4
Cost: £2.50 / $3
Equipment
- Box Grater & Large Bowl (for courgette)
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Large Deep Pan & Wooden Spoon
- Large Pot, Colander & Tongs
Ingredients
- 175g / 6oz Streaky Bacon, diced (see notes)
- 350g / 12oz Bucatini (see notes)
- 750g / 1.6lb Courgettes/Zucchinis, grated on a box grater
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 1/2 tsp EACH: Salt, Black Pepper (plus more as needed)
- 1 Lemon (1/2 tsp zest + 2 tsp juice)
- 120ml / 1/2 cup Double/Heavy Cream
- 120ml / 1/2 cup Chicken Stock
- 1x 150g/5.3oz block of Boursin Garlic & Herbs Cheese
- 40g / 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more to serve if desired
Instructions
- Add the bacon to a large deep pan over medium heat and gently fry until crisp with the fat rendered down.
- As the bacon begins to finish, add the pasta to salted boiling water and cook for a couple of minutes less than you usually would. It's essential the pasta is fairly al dente as it will continue cooking in the sauce. Drain the pasta, saving around a cup of the leftover pasta water.
- Once the bacon is crisp, remove it and place to one side, leaving the excess fat behind. Melt the butter then add the grated courgette. Increase the heat slightly to medium-high then stir to coat the courgette in the butter/bacon fat. Add 1/2 tsp salt, pepper and lemon zest and fry for a few minutes until it wilts and begins leaking out water (should reduce by around half).
- Stir in the stock, cream, Boursin, parmesan and 2 tsp lemon juice and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer until the liquid begins to thicken (3-5 mins).
- Add the drained pasta and toss to coat in the sauce. It'll likely still be pretty watery at this point, but the sauce will gradually begin to reduce and thicken. Just continue gently simmering and tossing until the sauce turns into a creamy, glossy consistency and the pasta finishes cooking through. It will thicken so have faith! If you over thicken or need more liquid to finish cooking the pasta through just toss in a splash more pasta water as needed.
- Stir through the bacon then check for seasoning and adjust if needed with salt and pepper. You can also add in more lemon juice if you feel it needs it.
- Serve with extra parmesan if desired then tuck in and enjoy!
Video
Notes
a) Pasta - I love Bucatini because it's so thick and holds the sauce really nicely, especially with the thin shreds of courgette. You can use regular spaghetti or any other long-cut pasta though!
b) Bacon - Don't rush the frying, you want to go fairly low and slow to render out as much fat as possible. This will not only leave the bacon nice and crispy, but you'll also get all that liquid gold to incorporate into the sauce! You can use smoked or unsmoked bacon.
c) Consistency - It'll seem alarmingly watery at first, but it does thicken, especially after you add the pasta. The excess starchy pasta water helps bind the fats in the sauce and helps create a creamy, glossy sauce.
d) Lemon - I actually like the lemon to be fairly subtle. It's definitely needed to brighten up the dish and cut through the richness, but start off with a little then you can adjust later on.
e) Calories - Whole recipe divided by 4 with no extra parmesan.
Nutrition
Calories: 822kcal | Carbohydrates: 77.97g | Protein: 20.31g | Fat: 49.85g | Saturated Fat: 19.203g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.11g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8.894g | Trans Fat: 0.32g | Cholesterol: 98mg | Sodium: 915mg | Potassium: 1057mg | Fiber: 11.3g | Sugar: 7.51g | Vitamin A: 1619IU | Vitamin C: 38.4mg | Calcium: 169mg | Iron: 2.16mg