There’s no doubt, carbonara is a classic. I have a recipe for a classic, basic carbonara (made with spaghetti, the authentic choice,) but this recipe has a vibrant spin. To brighten this up for spring time, I decided to add some sweet peas, sliced asparagus and fresh sweet basil. YUM. I also only used egg yolks for this sauce to keep it silky, luscious and less risky. I know there’s a whole thing with carbonara freaking people out due to the raw whole eggs, so I thought this was the move. Also, with the egg shortage, at least you can still get an egg white omelet for breakfast even when you’re using all these egg yolks.
Spring Carbonara
Ingredients
- 1 lb rigatoni preferably short rigatoni AKA rigatoni mezzi
- 4 oz pancetta
- 6-8 thick stalks of asparagus thinly sliced on a bias (if using thin asparagus, use more stalks to taste)
- 3/4 cup frozen or fresh peas
- 7 egg yolks from large eggs
- 1 ½ cups grated parmesan
- 1 bunch fresh basil finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
Directions
- In a small bowl, mix together the egg yolks, 1 cup parmesan and a generous amount of black pepper and set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 2-3 tbsp of salt. Cook the rigatoni according to packet instructions, remove pasta 1-2 minutes before instructed as the pasta will continue to cook when mixed with the sauce. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water.
- While pasta is cooking; in a saute pan, cook the pancetta on medium high heat until the fat is rendered and golden brown. Remove from the heat. Adjust the heat to medium and saute the asparagus for 3-4 minutes until cooked through but still has a bite to them.
- Add the peas to the pan and cook until bright green and thawed (if using frozen), about 1-2 minutes. Add the pancetta back in and the cooked pasta. Turn off the heat. Add the egg and parmesan mixture and quickly stir into the pasta to create a silky sauce. Add the finely chopped basil and mix well, slowly adding a few tablespoons of pasta water at a time to loosen the sauce (if needed) and create a creamy consistency throughout. Season with plenty of black pepper and serve onto plates with a sprinkle of the remaining parmesan cheese.
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