Serves a Crowd
by: Jesse Szewczyk
March17,2023
3.3
6 Ratings
- Prep time 10 minutes
- Cook time 40 minutes
- Serves 4 to 6
Author Notes
Carbonara is one of the most delicious, fuss-free pastas you can make. A creamy sauce made with nothing more than eggs and grated Pecorino Romano cheese enrobes pasta in a silky blanket while crispy bits of pork provide a contrasting textural bite. It’s a masterclass in simplicity, allowing the eggs to emulsify with the cheese to create a luscious sauce that’s far more than the sum of its parts. It’s one of Rome’s most famous dishes, and this version borrows all of the fundamental elements but adapts them into a verdant version fit for spring. Pieces of tender asparagus bulk up the pasta and mingle with the sauce to create a rich, satisfying weeknight pasta that celebrates the season. It’s everything you love about traditional carbonara, reworked into a vibrant springtime meal.
While guanciale (a cured meat product made from pork jowls) is most commonly used in traditional carbonara recipes, this version relies on thick-cut bacon to provide the characteristic salty, fatty pork flavor. The flavor combination of bacon and asparagus is a staple spring pairing, so it makes an ideal (and slightly more accessible) substitute for guanciale. But if you do happen to find guanciale at your grocery store, feel free to use it in equal parts in this recipe for a more traditional take. It’s often sold pre-diced into very small cubes, so just keep an eye on it as it cooks to prevent it from over-browning. —Jesse Szewczyk
- Test Kitchen-Approved
What You'll Need
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoonextra-virgin olive oil
- 1 poundthick-cut bacon (about 8 slices), diced (about 3 cups)
- 1 ½ poundsasparagus, woody ends trimmed and sliced into 1-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
- 1 teaspoonkosher salt, divided, plus more for pasta water
- 1 teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper, divided, plus more for serving
- 5 large egg yolks
- 2 large whole eggs
- 8 ouncesfreshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese (about 2 packed cups), plus more for serving
- 1 pounddried orecchiette or other small pasta
Directions
- Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil over high heat.
- As the water is coming up to a boil, heat the olive oil in a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the diced bacon and cook, stirring often, until the bacon has rendered out all of its fat and is dark brown and crispy, about 13 to 17 minutes. Transfer the cooked bacon into a large heat-proof mixing bowl using a slotted spoon, leaving behind all of the rendered fat in the skillet. Add the cut asparagus, ½ teaspoon of the kosher salt, and ½ teaspoon of the freshly ground black pepper to the pan of rendered bacon fat and continue cooking over medium heat, stirring often, just until the asparagus is tender but still has a toothsome bite, about 4 to 7 minutes. Transfer the asparagus into the bowl of bacon using a slotted spoon. (At this point you can either save or discard the rendered bacon fat.)
- In another large, heat-proof mixing bowl combine the egg yolks, whole eggs, cheese, remaining ½ teaspoon of kosher salt, and remaining ½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. Mix the eggs and cheese together until the mixture is thick and creamy and no streaks of unincorporated egg white remain. Set aside.
- Once the water has come to a boil, cook the pasta until al dente, about 10 to 12 minutes for orecchiette, and reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta into a colander and add it back to the pot along with the bacon and asparagus. Add the egg and cheese mixture to the pasta and immediately and vigorously stir so it evenly coats the pasta. The pasta should be glossy and creamy. If it’s too dry, add a splash of the reserved pasta water and continue mixing. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper as desired. Immediately serve the pasta with additional cheese and pepper.
Tags:
- Pasta
- American
- Italian
- Bacon
- Asparagus
- Egg
- Cheese
- Vegetable
- Serves a Crowd
- Weeknight Cooking
- Lunch
- Dinner
See what other Food52ers are saying.
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Trishington
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Emily Serven
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dollar.onliejobs.workers.dev
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MRBONEHEAD1
Popular on Food52
7 Reviews
Trishington January 9, 2024
Just made this and both my husband and I loved it. As a bonus there are loads of leftovers. I took the other comments about blandness to heart and added a small, diced onion and a minced garlic clove to the pan after sautéing the bacon and mixed in a big handful of fresh chopped basil with more basil on top for a garnish. It was soooo good. As for all the cost of the ingredients, I looked at this way: 7 eggs in a recipe that makes 4-6 servings works out to just over 1 egg per serving. Also, I used back bacon and probably only about ½ pound. As well, I made do with some nice parmesan from the deli that cost half as much as the Pecorino Romano so all in all the cost was pretty reasonable. Will definitely be making this again.
Emily S. January 3, 2024
This is not a review, simply a comment. Folks are noting that this is too expensive due to the eggs. But eggs are still one of the least expensive proteins you can buy! And this may call for 7 eggs, but it serves 6 people. Seems reasonable to me.
MRBONEHEAD1 May 26, 2023
This wasn't bad but agree that it was bland. Added fresh garlic and it helped. But some extra fresh herbs would do wonders. Also, you should lay out the order a little better and put pasta in after you put asparagus in so you can time everything to combine better. A few tweaks and this could be very good. Going to try as a side with a steak!
Horning.pz April 13, 2023
We made the recipe exactly. The ratio of pasta to asparagus to bacon was perfect. But honestly, it was bland. We added extra salt and pepper, and still a one note. We finally added garlic and then at least, it was satisfying. Although, we would not make again.
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Ma_Faldine April 4, 2023
This recipe is mouthwatering - even at 9:30 in the morning. It looked really good, until the part about 7 eggs. Sorry, but with the cost of eggs now, I'll save this recipe until prices come down.
Marian R. April 6, 2023
I actually saved it to look at and was thinking it sounded great as well - until I got to the part about the seven eggs.
