Pasta Carbonara with Asparagus
Orecchiette pasts is my favorite pasta. The perfect little "lamb's ears" are designed to cradle the sauce and provide a wonderful mix of pasta and sauce. Asparagus is fresh and tender in the spring and is excellent in this easy dish.
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Total Time:
Ingredients:
| coarse salt and ground pepper | |
| 6 slices | bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces |
| 4 | leeks (white and light-green parts only) or spring onions*, halved lengthwise, rinsed well, and thinly sliced |
| 3/4 pound | short pasta, such as campanelle or orecchiette |
| 3/4 pound | asparagus spears, ends trimmed |
| 2 | large eggs |
| 1/4 cup | Parmesan cheese, grated, plus more for serving |
| 1 tablespoon | lemon zest |
| 1 tablespoon | lemon juice |
| 1/2 cup | fresh parsley leaves, coarsley chopped |
Directions:
1. Set a large pot of salted water to boil. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet. (I did not pour off any fat… it looked too good to discard.) Add leeks, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often, until leeks are golden brown, about 10 minutes.
2. Add pasta to pot and cook according to package instructions. Meanwhile, cut asparagus into 1.5- to 2-inch long pieces. In the last three minutes of the pasta cooking time, drop the asparagus into the pot of water. Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking liquid.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, Parmesan, and lemon zest and juice. Whisk 1/4 cup pasta water into egg mixture.
4. Drain pasta and asparagus and immediately add to egg mixture, along with bacon, leeks, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Sprinkle with more cheese if desired and serve immediately. Note: If you’re nervous about the egg not cooking, just throw the whole mixture back into a large skillet over medium heat for a minute or two.
Source: alexandracooks.com
