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Trofie & Romana Courgettes with Egg Yolk, Parmesan and Pecorino
2 servings medium confidence View original ↗
Ingredients
  • 4-5 medium Romana courgettes (zucchini)inferred
  • 1, sliced Garlic cloveinferred
  • a small handful Fresh basil leaves
  • 2-3 tbsp Olive oilinferred
  • 200g Trofie pasta (fresh or dried)inferred
  • 1-2 yolks Egg yolk
  • 30g Parmesan cheese, gratedinferred
  • 30g Pecorino cheese, gratedinferred
  • to taste, freshly cracked Black pepper
  • to taste Saltinferred
  • 1-2, thinly sliced Extra zucchini for garnish (sun-dried and fried)
Steps
  1. Slice the internal (fleshy) part of the zucchini and gently sauté with garlic/onion in olive oil over low heat with no colour, until soft and sweet, to make a purée base.
  2. Separately, blanch the zucchini peels with basil in boiling salted water for a minute, then shock in ice water.
  3. Blend the blanched peels and basil with a little of the blanching liquid until smooth, to create a vibrant green purée.
  4. Combine the soft zucchini flesh with the green basil-peel purée to form the final sauce base.inferred
  5. Make trofie pasta by hand by rolling small pieces of dough between your palms into their signature twisted shape (or substitute with good-quality dried trofie or another short pasta).
  6. Thinly slice extra zucchini and dry in the sun for a few hours to remove moisture (or use a low oven, ~90°C for 1 hour, as an inferred alternative).inferred
  7. Fry the dried zucchini slices in hot oil until crisp and golden, then drain on paper towel; these will be the garnish.
  8. Cook the trofie in well-salted boiling water until al dente, reserving some pasta water before draining.
  9. Toss the cooked pasta with the zucchini purée over low heat, loosening with a splash of pasta water if needed.
  10. Whisk together the egg yolk, grated parmesan, and pecorino to form a thick paste.
  11. Remove the pasta from the heat and stir through the egg yolk and cheese mixture quickly to create a glossy, velvety sauce, taking care not to scramble the egg (carbonara-style technique).
  12. Plate the pasta, top with the crispy fried zucchini garnish, and finish with plenty of freshly cracked black pepper.
This is a seasonal Italian recipe shared as a 'from the archives' post; the creator mentions a full written recipe is available on their Substack newsletter, which likely contains exact quantities and times not stated in the video. The egg yolk/cheese finish is optional — the dish can also be served 'clean' without it for a purer zucchini flavour. Sun-drying the zucchini garnish is a traditional touch but can be substituted with a low oven if sun-drying isn't practical.