Another Borrowed Recipe - Florentine Fettuccine Carbonara

As I did the previous evening, Thursday night I finally made another recipe from my starred Google Reader list. There are lots of interesting meals that I see from other Nestie ladies, but a lot of them are desserts, casseroles, or pork/ beef dishes I'm just not inclined to make. (For the record, I love pork, but hubby Adam thinks he doesn't so I get an earful any time I make it and it's just not worth the effort to hear all that complaining. As for beef, it's my nemesis; I stink at cooking it and usually it comes out like shoe leather. Ick. I avoid it usually.)

So one of the recipes that caught my eye and made it to the reserved list was Michelle's Pasta Carbonara. Now I have to laugh because Michelle got this recipe from Cooking Light. I don't know what they are smoking over there at Cooking Light, but bacon, cheese, and egg do NOT a light and healthy meal make! I mean, I doubled the pasta from the original (see Michelle's post of the original recipe) and I did not double the bacon but it was still plenty good. I can't even imagine doubling the bacon and expecting this to be considered health food! But I digress...

Don't let the seemingly raw egg scare you away from this recipe. When you add the cheese and egg sauce into the hot pasta, it cooks up and creates a delicious creamy coating that matches perfectly with the bacon. And the wilted spinach really adds a nice tang to the dish that might otherwise be just too much richness.


Florentine Fettuccine Carbonara

• 16 oz. Package Dried Fettuccine
  
• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
  
• 1 1/2 - 2 C. Coarsely Chopped Raw Spinach
  
• 6 Slices of Bacon (should be pancetta, but that wasn't in my fridge)
  
• 1 Med Onion, chopped
  
• 2-3 Tbsp. White Cooking Wine
  
• 1 C. Parmesan Cheese, finely grated
  
• 2 Eggs
  
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. Dried Parsley (fresh would have been better)
  
• 1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
  
• 2 Dashes Salt

1. Prepare pasta according to directions. I started the water boiling right when I started the rest of this meal and the timing was perfect to drop the pasta in the other pan while freshly drained and still plenty wet. If pasta is ready far in advance, reserve 1-2 Tbsp. of the cooking liquid and keep drained pasta warm.
   
2. In a very large skillet or a stock pot (large to mix the pasta in), heat the olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add in the spinach and 1 dash of salt. Cook until just wilted then remove to a bowl and set aside.
   
3. Place chopped bacon into the pot and cook until crisp, about 5-7 minutes. Stir the meat occasionally to ensure even crisping. When cooked, remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside in the same bowl as the spinach. Dispose of all but 2 tsp of the bacon fat from the pot.
   
4. Saute the onions in the remaining bacon fat until soft, stirring often. As onions are cooking, add in the dried parsley.
   
5. Add in the white wine and cook the onions for another minute.
   
6. As the onions cook, whisk together the Parmesan, eggs, pepper and dash of salt to create your sauce.
   
7. At this point hopefully your pasta is cooked and ready to go! Bring the heat on the onion pot to low. First add the spinach and bacon back into the pot with the onions. Next add in the wet pasta or the drained pasta and reserved liquid. Stir the pasta to mix in the onions, bacon, and spinach.
   
8. With the temperature of the pot cooled to warm, add in the well mixed egg sauce and stir it quickly to coat the pasta. Serve immediately and enjoy!