Egg Tagliolini

courgettes in two textures, raw prawn

Difficulty Hard

Preparation 40 min

Cooking 20 min

Serves 4 people

Category First Courses

Season Summer

Cuisine Contemporary

Propaganda's egg tagliolini is a summer first course built entirely on contrast: a single courgette, two completely different creams. From the peels, blanched in seawater-salted water, comes a bright, vibrant green sauce; from the cores, softened with garlic and onion, a pale, delicate cream for garnishing. On top, red prawn tartare hand-chopped only at the moment of service, crispy fried courgettes added at the very last, and a grating of fresh lemon zest that ties sea and garden together. A technical yet essential dish, where every element stays distinct and recognisable.

Ingredients

For the pasta

Egg tagliolini360 g

Coarse salt for pasta waterto taste

Green cream (sauce)

Peels of medium courgettes6-8

Salt (per litre of water)35 g

Ice-cold wateras needed

Garlic-infused oilto taste

Saltto taste

Pale cream (garnish)

Cores of the same courgettes6-8

Golden onion1/2

Garlic1 clove

Extra virgin olive oilto taste

Saltto taste

Fried courgettes

Courgettes1-2

Seed oil (140-150°C)to taste

Saltto taste

Prawn tartare

Fresh red prawns, cleaned200 g

Extra virgin olive oilto taste

Lemon zest1 lemon

Saltto taste

Finishing in the pan

Fresh basilto taste

Garlic-infused oilto taste

Lemon zest1 lemon

Method

Preparing the courgettes

Peel the courgettes, carefully separating the peels from the core. The peels will be used for the green sauce, the cores for the pale garnish cream. Cut the courgette cores into pieces.

Cooking the courgette cores

In a pan, add olive oil, garlic and onion, and let them brown lightly. Add the courgette cores, season with salt and let the courgettes soften over medium-low heat, until completely tender.

Garnish cream (pale)

Blend the softened courgette cores until smooth and pale in colour. Transfer to a squeeze bottle, to be used for the final garnish.

Blanching the peels

Meanwhile, blanch the courgette peels in salted water (35 g of salt per litre). Drain and transfer immediately into iced water to stop the cooking and lock in the vibrant green colour.

Sauce cream (green)

Blend the blanched peels with garlic-infused oil and salt, until you obtain a smooth, intensely green cream. This will be the base sauce for the tagliolini.

Fried courgettes

Cut the remaining courgettes into thin rounds and fry in oil at 140-150°C until golden and crispy. Drain on kitchen paper and season lightly with salt.

Prawn tartare

Hand-chop the red prawns with a knife. Dress with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt and grated lemon zest. Keep refrigerated until plating.

Cooking and finishing the tagliolini

Drop the tagliolini into a large pot of well-salted boiling water. Meanwhile, in a pan, warm a drizzle of garlic-infused oil with chopped fresh basil. Add the green courgette cream and warm gently to build flavour. Drain the tagliolini directly into the pan and toss, adding a grating of lemon zest. Continue tossing until the pasta is well coated. If you run out of green cream, add a little pasta water to reach a soft, coating consistency.

Plating

Twirl the tagliolini onto the plate using tongs, spooning over any green cream left in the pan. Garnish with dots of the pale courgette cream. Scatter the red prawn tartare. Finish with the crispy fried courgettes. Complete with a final grating of lemon zest and fresh basil leaves.

👨‍🍳 Chef's tip

Egg Tagliolini