Courgette Lemon & Chilli Tagliatelle

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Preparation Time: 5 minutes | Cooking Time: 25 minutes | Freezable?: No

Light vegetarian dish for one, with a unique creamy lemony flavour. (easily adapted if you’re not vegetarian by adding some lightly fried chopped bacon)

Ingredients
Method

Ingredients

1 large courgette (or 2 smaller ones)
125g of tagliatelle
about ½ a finely chopped red chilli (deseeded, if preferred)
small egg yolk
25g /1oz Parmesan , grated, plus a bit extra to serve
1 tbsp single cream, or creme fraiche
Zest of half a lemon

Method

Coarsely grate the courgette, place a sieve over a bowl, add the grated courgettes and press to squeeze as much liquid out as you can.
Meanwhile cook the tagliatelle in boiling salted water following the pack instructions, (normally 10-12 mins unless its a quick pasta variety) . Meanwhile, heat a large, non-stick frying pan, and if you are including it, dry-fry the bacon, stirring often, until crisp. Add the chilli and cook for 1 min more, then tip in the courgettes and cook on a high heat for 2-3 mins.
Mix together the egg yolks, cheese, cream and lemon zest together. Drain the pasta when cooked, reserving a just a little of the cooking water. Tip everything back into the pasta pan and toss together. Best served in a bowl, with extra Parmesan.

How do I zest a lemon?

Not sure how to zest your lemons!

Grating the outer peel of any citrus fruit, lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruits releases concentrated flavors just waiting to be released from the oils already lurking in the fruit’s skin. A little zest goes a long way in adding amazing flavours to salads, grilled meat, some puddings not to mention drinks; wouldn’t recommend putting in beer though. Check out this one minute clip from Jamie Oliver to see how to zest like a pro.