Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Culinary Adventures: Pasta Carbonara

I know carbonara is not "fancy" in any way- it's a really simple pasta dish that's mostly bacon- but something about the egg and cream makes it feel rich and decadent.  Add a little chopped fresh parsley on top and, in my humble opinion, you've got yourself a pretty fancy little dish!

yeah, we've got a little scrambled egg action going on in there...still tasted good, though // *personal photo*
Pasta Carbonara
adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

-1lb dried ziti regata
-5 slices of bacon, diced
-1 cup frozen peas
-6 room-temperature eggs
-1/2 cup heavy cream (also at room temperature)
-1 1/4 cup grated parmesan
-handful of fresh parsley, chopped

-Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente.  (Follow the directions on the box.)

-Meanwhile, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp.  Just before the bacon is done, add the peas.  Remove the pan from the heat when everything is cooked.

-Beat the eggs, cream, and cheese in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

-Drain the cooked pasta and add it to the pan with the bacon and peas (and the bacon fat!).  Cover the pasta in the egg mixture and toss until everything is fully combined and the heat of the pasta has cooked the egg mixture.  (You might end up with a bit of scrambled eggs like I did.  You've got to stir everything really fast to avoid this.)

-Serve with extra parmesan and the fresh parsley for garnish.

How do you fancy-up simple dishes?

Much love,
The Geeks

2 comments:

  1. Ah! I walked by the bacon today, but couldn't remember why I was going to buy it, so I kept moving... Now I remember I was going to make this pasta!

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    1. Yikes! Bacon is definitely an essential element in a traditional carbonara... I suppose if you had a nice fatty sausage (perhaps with the casing removed) you could substitute that, but in my opinion, nothing's better than bacon!

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