Spaghetti alla carbonara with tuna & courgettes

Method

1. Bring plenty of water to the boil and then add salt.
2. Cut the courgettes into thin slices and brown them in a pan with the extra virgin olive oil, seasoning with a little salt. 
3. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook until 'al dente'.  
4. Beat the eggs in a bowl with the cream and the parmesan, then add the piping hot courgettes and the drained tuna, followed by the drained pasta. Mix well so that the pasta absorbs the sauce.  
5. Season with plenty of freshly milled black pepper and serve immediately. 

Chef's tip

Add some fresh torn basil leaves to the pasta, it will taste amazing!

Serving suggestion

Serve with a nice leafy salad or with some vegetable side-dishes.

Wine selection

We suggest you serve a dry white wine like a Friulano Friuli Aquileia DOC Superiore, a Greco di Tufo or a Nuragus di Cagliari. Sparkling dry wines are a good choice too!

Family tip

If you want to make this dish lighter, you can use tuna tinned in water instead of in oil.

Dish history

Pasta alla carbonara is a typical dish from the Lazio region, more particularly from Rome, made with basic ingredients (eggs, pig's cheek or bacon, pepper and cheese) and characterised by intense flavour. Italians traditionally use spaghetti to make this recipe, but other pasta shapes are suitable too, like for instance penne, fusilli and macaroni. Here we suggest a recipe variation, replacing the bacon with tuna and adding courgettes for a nice touch of colour. Try it out and never forget: improvisation and creativity are the very heart of Italian cuisine!