Bacon and eggs for dinner? Yes, please! Although Michael would never order pasta carbonara in a restaurant, he enjoys eating mine. Why? He’s not a fan of cream based sauces, so I don’t make it that way. Here’s your answer for what to cook for dinner tonight. Easy!
While I wait for the water to boil, I begin making the sauce by browning some bacon in a skillet. I cut off about an inch from the bacon I keep in the freezer and chopped it up. While I was in there, I looked for some peas because I think they add a nice pop of color and texture, but the only peas I had were the ones I used as an ice pack last time I bumped my head, so no peas this time…Instead, I decided to use some chopped leeks that were starting to get a little frosty. Why not? Onions are the other essential ingredient here, so I figured a combination of leeks and red onion would work well while adding texture and color.
Are you getting the idea here? This dish can be made quickly and easily with things you probably already have on hand. A well stocked freezer of flavor gems helps immensely and who doesn’t usually have a box of pasta and a few eggs sitting around? That means you already know what to cook for dinner tonight and it’s so easy!
I spooned off most of the bacon fat that had been rendered before adding the onions and leeks to the skillet. Cooked until tender and added a splash of white wine while I waited for the pasta water to boil. That’s the thing that takes the longest here…
Preparing the Eggs
After putting the pasta into the boiling water, I whisked 3 eggs in my favorite big round bottomed pot and then placed it over the boiling pot of pasta and continued to whisk for a couple of minutes. Why? Because I wanted to begin cooking the eggs without turning them into scrambled. The eggs will finish cooking when you combine them with the hot pasta, but I like to give them a head start. Whisk quickly while heating them double boiler style and remove from the heat if you start to see any little bits that start to look like cooked scrambled eggs. Remember you’re making a sauce, not scrambled eggs. Whisk, whisk, whisk!
Season eggs with salt. Once the pasta is cooked, toss it together with the eggs, bacon, onions and some grated parmesan and serve. You can add a little pasta water if you need a touch more sauciness. Top with ground pepper and grated parmesan. The hardest thing here is deciding whether to drink a red or white wine with this dinner. I could go either way.
Here’s what we decided.
Okay, Michael makes one exception to the no-cream rule. To make that delicious sauce, read Make Your Pasta Pretty In Pink .