30 minutes is all you need in order to make this comforting Pancetta Asparagus Carbonara pasta dish. Crispy fried pancetta and asparagus is tossed with cooked linguine in a 4-ingredient cheesy sauce. Serve with crusty bread and a simple green salad.
How was your weekend? I hope it was eventful or restful, whatever your soul needed it to be. We spent Friday watching Malloree’s middle school softball team play a double header . Then I took both Haileigh and Malloree down to Ann Arbor on Saturday to watch the U of M softball team play. It was chilly, buy so worth it to watch them play, sweeping Indiana 8-0. Afterwards Mal got a U of M Softball t-shirt signed by some of the players, and her picture taken with her idol, pitching phenom Megan Betsa. On Sunday, we laid low and ate pasta.
If there was no such things as carbs or calories, I’d eat pasta everyday. And with bread and with wine.
Carbonara is one of the most simple pasta dishes to prepare, making it perfect for any day of the week. In this carbonara recipe, I panfried asparagus in the fat leftover from the pancetta and then tossed it all along with piping-hot noodles in the cheesy eggy sauce.
Dinner in 30. You can’t beat it so why not eat it?!
Here’s what you’ll need: 8 ounces pancetta (you’ll need to dice it into 1/4-inch pieces), 1 bunch asparagus, 4 large eggs (at room temperature), a 1/2 cup of each Parmesan and Romano cheese- freshly grated. Linguine, salt for the pasta water and freshly ground black pepper
Start by frying up the diced pancetta in a teaspoon of olive oil until crispy. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pancetta to a paper towel lined plate to drain, leaving the fat in the pan.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add 2 tablespoons of fine sea salt to the water and cook the pasta until al dente following package directions.
Trim off the tough ends off a bunch of asparagus. Then carefully add it to the pan with the leftover pancetta fat and cook until tender and slightly browned in spots. Then, transfer to the plate with the pancetta.
Whisk the eggs until beaten, then whisk in the cheeses and black pepper.
Once the pasta is cooked, use tongs to transfer it from the pot to the bowl of eggs and cheese and quickly toss together.
Then add in the asparagus and pancetta, toss and serve.
With extra grated Parmesan and Romano cheese on top and torn fresh basil.
Crispy, cheesy, asparagus-y. This pasta dish is rich and decadent but simple and fresh. Serve with a green salad and warm, crusty bread.
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Enjoy! And if you give this recipe a try, let me know by snapping a photo and tagging me on twitter or instagram!
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Pancetta Asparagus Carbonara
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 8 ounces pancetta, diced 1/4-inch pieces
- 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound linguine noodles
- 2 tablespoons fine sea salt, for pasta water
- fresh basil, for garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil.
- Meanwhile, preheat a skillet over medium to medium low heat. Add olive oil and pancetta and cook until crispy. Then use a slotted spoon and transfer the pancetta to a paper towel lined plate. Then add in the asparagus and a pinch of salt, stir and cook until tender and golden. About 5 to 8 minutes. Again, use the slotted spoon to transfer the asparagus to the plate.
- Once the water is at a rolling boil, add in the 2 tablespoons of sea salt and the pasta. Cook until al dente according the the directions on the package.
- Meanwhile, beat the eggs and whisk in the cheeses and black pepper. Once the pasta is cooked, use tongs to transfer the hot pasta from the pot and add immediately to the egg and cheese mixture. Tossing quickly until the sauce thickens. Add in the pancetta and asparagus and toss to combine.
- Serve pasta in bowl with extra grated cheese on top with torn fresh basil and a few grinds of black pepper.
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Hello! I hope you’re well. I just wanted to ask a potentially weird question: can you taste the egg in carbonara? I don’t like eggs but I wonder if in this recipe they are kind of hidden in the cheese?