PPN: Pasta Carbonara

This week's Presto Pasta Night is being hosted right here on Cook, Craft, Enjoy.  I'm so excited to bring you this week's entries on Friday and decided for my entry to make a easy weeknight dinner.

I subscribe to Martha Stewart's Dinner Tonight email and this one showed up in my inbox last Thursday.  I knew it would be a great weeknight dinner - Carbonara is quick - and looking at the ingredients I knew it would be tasty as well.  I definitely wasn't disappointed.

Today was a very long day at work.  We had to stay an extra hour for a meeting and that meant not getting home until after 6.  Luckily with a little help, dinner got on the table at 6:45 and was promptly devoured by everyone.  I have to say I loved the addition of lemon, leeks and parsley to an otherwise regular Carbonara recipe - and I know this will get made again soon.

Pasta Carbonara with Leeks and Lemon
(from Martha Stewart.com - recipe here)

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 6 slices bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
• 4 leeks (white and light-green parts only), halved lengthwise, rinsed well, and thinly sliced
• 3/4 pound short pasta, such as campanelle or orecchiette (I used a full pound)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 ounce Parmesan, grated (1/4 cup), plus more for serving (optional)
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, coarsely chopped

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. 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. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, Parmesan, and lemon zest and juice. Whisk 1/4 cup pasta water into egg mixture.

3. Drain pasta 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

Comments

[Ruth]

Sounds droolingly delicious. Thanks for sharing and especially for hosting this week's Presto Pasta Night. I can't wait to see what everyone else comes up with.

[Alisha]

Thanks, Ruth! This week's a good one - and thanks for letting me host - it's a blast!