By this time you've figured it out that, yes, I do eat bacon pretty much every day. Not just whole slabs cooked up and eaten on it's own, but in some way. I use bacon as a flavouring for soups and stews, topping potatoes or salad, or adding to a pasta dish. Really the possibilities are endless, just try and think of a food that bacon would NOT taste good with I will convince you it would...go ahead, try me...Carbonara is a classic pasta recipe that typically calls for Pancetta, which is a lovely pork product, but because I always have bacon on hand, that's what I use. I have adapted this from Rachel Ray, yes I know, but she has been a great source for simple, family friendly, easy meals. Ray Ray is not a trained chef and has become extremely successful (if not a sellout with her daytime TV show - ooohhh, yeah I went there!) by being herself and sharing her love of food. I'd say she's a bit of an inspiration to cooks like me...except for the selling out part...I'm just kidding, that's just the green eyed monster rearing it's ugly head...I don't want to EVER be on TV, can't stand even having my picture taken, which is odd because I am quite lovely...but I digress...
So this is the Jen adapted recipe, it's very easy on ingredients, takes a bit of timing, but is relatively quick. I've added the spinach because the Izbot loves it, and it makes me feel like I'm getting some veg.
Spaghetti Carbonara with Spinach
You will need...
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 5-6 slices bacon - chopped
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup chicken stock or white wine
- 1/2 pound fresh spinach
- 2 large egg yolks
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Handful of finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
- Fresh Roma tomato - chopped, for garnish
- A large deep sautee pan, big enough to toss the ingredients with the pasta.
How you do it...
1. In a large pot, boil lots of water, add a fair amount of salt, a bit of oil, and cook the pasta till al dente, about 8 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook till tender, not quite crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain off most of the fat, keeping about a tablespoon or so in the pan. Add red pepper flakes and garlic and cook 2 to 3 minutes more. Add stock/wine and stir, scraping up the bits of goodness off the bottom of the pan. Add spinach and cook about a minute till it's wilted. Turn the heat down a bit while you do the next step...things move very quickly at this point, so you want to have everything ready to go.
3. In a separate bowl, beat yolks, then slowly while whisking gently add 1 large ladleful (about 1/2 cup) of the pasta cooking water. This tempers the eggs and keeps them from scrambling when added to the pasta.
4. Drain pasta well and add it directly to the pan with the bacony mixture. Increase heat back to medium
5. Pour the egg mixture over the pasta. Toss rapidly to coat the pasta, and so the egg does not cook. At this point you may need add a bit more of the pasta water if it's looking too sticky and dry.
6. Remove pan from heat and add a handful of Parmesan, plenty of fresh cracked pepper, and a little salt. Continue to toss and turn the pasta until it soaks up egg mixture and thickens, 1 to 2 minutes.
7. Garnish with parsley, tomato and extra grated Parmesan. Serve and devour immediately
I don't think I need to tell you how delicious this is, what could be better than bacon, cheese and pasta all mixed together? It comes out nice and creamy, similar to a cream sauce, but with out the fattiness...and since bacon is naturally fat free this is a nice healthy dish...that's right, I said fat free, you wanna challenge me? Hmm do ya, do ya ?? I thought not....
As always I serve this with a salad, keeping it lightly dressed with just lemon, lime, olive oil and S&P. And of course mass amount of garlic bread....like I said, a nice light dish...
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