bucatini carbonara

leah | 03.18.2020

italians pls ignore

recipe:
again, not interested in ~authenticity. i make it with bacon because we always have bacon around and it's good that way! i also like adding greens because vegetables are good. we had frozen spinach so i used that, but the absolute best top tier vegetable for carbonara is dandelion greens. the bitterness contrasts well with the rich eggy sauce and it has enough bite to not totally fall apart when wilted. i guess other people would probably serve a side salad but who has time for that! put the vegetables in the pasta directly!

• cut up a few strips of thick cut bacon into lardons, i used 3 strips, i think? throw them in a cold pan with a tbsp or two of olive oil, turn the heat to medium and start rendering the fat out of the bacon.
• at the same time, start cooking pasta. i used 1/2 lb bucatini. tbh, house style is usually cavatappi or penne, but we're out. spaghetti and bucatini are normal choices.
• once the bacon is crisp, toss in 2-3 cloves of minced garlic. cook for a minute.
• add in your greens of choice and cook it in the bacon fat and garlic. season with salt.
• beat some eggs (i used 3) with salt and lots of pepper and stir in 1/2 cup grated parmesan.
• once the pasta is done, add it and like 1/4 of pasta water to the bacon & greens pan. toss that together until combined.
• take the pan off the heat and pour in the egg mixture. toss to combine. if your pan is too hot, the eggs will scramble a bit, but it also tastes good this way. call it breakfast pasta.
• grind some more pepper on top and serve.