P
Italian · Procida
Carbonara di Zucchine alla Procidana
A Procida Island variation on the Roman carbonara concept: sliced zucchine (courgettes) fried in olive oil until golden and slightly caramelised, then combined off heat with beaten egg yolks, Provolone del Monaco (local sharp aged cheese), and pasta cooking water to create an emulsified, creamy sauce with no cream. The zucchine are not a replacement for guanciale but a complete reconception — the Procidana version is a summer island pasta, light and vegetable-forward while using the same egg-and-cheese emulsification technique. The courgette's moisture must be removed before the egg is added or the sauce breaks.
‹Swipe for the next dish›
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
400 g
spaghetti or rigatoni
Your own market
600 g
zucchine (courgettes)
sliced into 3–4 mm rounds
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
6
egg yolks
Your own market
120 g
Provolone del Monaco
finely grated
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
60 ml
extra-virgin olive oil
Your own market
1 pinch
dried chilli flakes
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
4 leaves
fresh mint or basil
Origin · New ZealandPurely Artisan Foods · San Diego →
to taste
fine sea salt
Your own market
to taste
black pepper
freshly ground
Your own market
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and salt it generously. Cook the pasta to one minute short of al dente, reserving at least 200 ml of the starchy cooking water before draining.
2
Warm the olive oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat. Add the chilli flakes, then lay the zucchine rounds in a single layer — work in batches if necessary; a crowded pan traps steam and the rounds will not colour. Fry without moving them until the underside is deep golden, then turn. The finished rounds must be amber, slightly caramelised at the edges, and dry to the touch: all visible moisture must have left the pan before the next step.
3
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks with the grated Provolone del Monaco and a generous grinding of black pepper until the mixture is thick and homogeneous. Add two tablespoons of the reserved pasta cooking water and stir to loosen to a pourable consistency.
From the canon — Provolone del Monaco DOP is the great aged cheese of the Sorrentine Peninsula—a semi-hard, stretched-curd (pasta filata) cheese produced from the raw milk of… Provolone del Monaco →
4
Remove the pan from the heat entirely and allow it to rest off the flame for thirty seconds. Add the drained pasta to the pan and toss it through the zucchine. This is where the dish lives or dies: the pan must be completely off the heat before the egg mixture is introduced — the residual heat of the pasta and pan is the only warmth the emulsion can safely receive; direct flame scrambles the yolks without recovery.
5
Pour the egg-and-cheese mixture over the pasta. Toss constantly and with purpose, adding the reserved cooking water a tablespoon at a time. Continue tossing until the sauce is glossy, coats every strand, and moves as a single fluid mass rather than pooling at the base of the pan. Do not allow the pasta to sit still.
6
Tear the mint or basil leaves over the surface and serve immediately on warmed plates. The sauce should still be fluid on the plate — it will tighten as it cools.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Zucchine from a named Campanian or island grower, picked small and dense; Provolone del Monaco DOP aged a minimum of six months from a single cheesemaker; pasta extruded through bronze dies from a Campanian producer.
02
Estate — Market-bought small zucchine with tight skin and few seeds; Provolone del Monaco DOP of standard ageing; dried pasta of good Italian provenance.
03
Market — Any firm, unblemished courgette under 20 cm; a sharp aged Provolone where del Monaco is unavailable; a reliable commercial spaghetti or rigatoni.
04
House — Standard supermarket courgettes — slice and salt briefly to draw moisture if they appear watery; substitute Pecorino Romano if no aged Provolone is available, accepting a saltier and less distinctly Procidana result.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. Zucchine rounds are amber and caramelised at the edges with no visible moisture remaining in the pan.
◇Touch. A fried zucchine round pressed lightly between fingers offers slight resistance and does not release liquid.
◇Sight. The finished sauce is glossy and coats the pasta in a continuous film; it is fluid enough to move when the plate is tilted.
◇Smell. The pan smells of sweet caramelised vegetable and warm cheese with no sulphurous egg note — any cooked-egg smell indicates the emulsion has broken.
◇Where it lives or dies. The pan must be completely off the heat before the egg mixture touches the pasta — the residual heat of the pasta alone is the only warmth the emulsion can safely receive; direct flame scrambles the yolks without recovery.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Wine
From British Columbia
Wine
Without alcohol
GT's Synergy Organic Kombucha — Gingerade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
Sourced through Provenance