Every so often I get a hankering for Pasta Carbonara. The first time I had a good version of this dish was many years ago. I was a teenager and some friends of Aunt Marie's had invited us to dinner at their apartment. They were Sicilian and she made Linguine Carbonara with peas for dinner. It was delicious, rich, and yet some how light. There was a delicate creamy sauce bathing the long noodles, balanced by smoky bits of bacon or ham--I can't remember exactly, rich cheese, and sweet green peas to balance everything out. I have had many version of this dish since then. Most of them without peas and many of them too rich and heavy, with eggs that were slowly scrambling the pasta in a leaden mass of noodles. The longer medicore versions of this dish sit, the less appealing they become. It's one of those techniques that must be mastered in order to shine.
The other night I was scouring the refrigerator for something to make for dinner. There were eggs and cooked bacon slices. There were lovely green pea shoots slowly dying in the refrigerator and a package of organic peas in the freezer. A quick scan of the pantry revealed an artisan package of Italian bucatini--Alex's favorite noodle. Pasta Carbonara was a no-brainer. I even had some heavy cream to ease the way into a lighter sauce. I know that many chefs think that using cream is cheating, but I think that whatever makes a better dish should be considered fair game. I quickly sliced up a few slices of cooked bacon and set them to render in a large saute pan while I roughly chopped the pea shoots. Once the bacon had rendered a bit and the bits were crisp, I turned up the heat and added a bit more bacon fat and the greens to the pan. Once the greens had wilted, I added some cream and left everything to simmer slowly while I cooked the pasta. While the bucatini was boiling, I whisked some eggs and parmesan cheese with a bit more cream and left them at the ready. When the noodles were almost cooked I add some frozen peas to the pan to warm up. Then I added the hot noodles and tossed them with contents of the pan. Once they had been slicked with bacon fat and cream we added the eggs and slowly mixed everything together over low heat. It came together beautifully in a sauce as rich and light and flavorful as the one I remembered. We quickly plated the pasta and gave it a finishing shower of cheese and pepper before rushing it to the table. It was the perfect chilly spring dinner--warm and comforting and accented with the bright flavors of spring peas.
Years Past
May 8, 2007
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