Impromptu Egg-less Carbonara made for a comforting dinner on a cold Arizona night.
When there is no dinner plan, pasta is a sure pleaser for all. Wouldn't you agree? The other day, a cold Arizona Monday night to be exact, was another night without a dinner plan. I'm still trying to get used to the idea of meal prepping ahead of time. On this night, I looked in my pantry and fridge to see what I had to work with.
So, I see I have some raw bacon in the fridge left over from Sunday's brunch. I also notice a half jar of sun-dried tomatoes in oil. I take both out. I know I have pasta and check to see what shapes I have. A whole bag of orecchiette pasta. Great! Pasta is always an easy dinner to make.
I'm thinking of making carbonara. Carbonara is usually made with guanciale or pancetta, but bacon is what had on hand. Back to the fridge, no eggs. Well, it will have to be egg-less carbonara I guess. I reach for the half and half and check for cheese. I'm in luck. I have some Parmigiano-Reggiano. And not the fake kind, I might add. Real Parmigiano-Reggiano has markings stamped on the rind. A sure sign of the good stuff!
I have the beginnings of a great dish, but I need something green. I like to make sure the colors are balanced in a dish. I usually have Italian parsley on hand but not today. I take a quick peek in the freezer and a bag of frozen peas is at eye level. This recipe is coming together! I created a very non-traditional carbonara. Can I still call it that? Sun-dried tomatoes, bacon, and peas in a creamy sauce. What could be bad?
If you've read the recipe already you will see that you need to reserve some pasta water. Pasta water is amazing! The salty, starchy water helps to create a creamy pasta sauce. Here's another little trick with pasta water. If you have leftover pasta that has been sitting out for a while after cooking, add some pasta water before putting into a container. This will help moisten the noodles if they seem to have gotten dry from sitting out.
You will notice that I don't mention seasoning with extra salt in this recipe. If you properly salt the water you're going to cook the pasta in you don't have to add extra salt. You can be the judge though. Adding salt to any dish should really be to your taste.
This recipe is great comfort food! I love how this came together, and it's so easy and fast! I hope you enjoy.
Italian Egg-less Carbonara
Prep Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 slices bacon, chopped
2 cups orecchietta, cooked in salted water. See package for length of time. About 8 minutes.
1/4 cup half and half
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
5 or 6 sun dried tomatoes (that have been packed in oil), chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas
Reserve 1 cup pasta water
Method
In a 3 quart pan, melt two tablespoons of butter over medium high heat. Add chopped bacon and cook until starting to get crispy. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel on a plate.
Add garlic to the pan and cook for about a minute. Add sun-dried tomatoes and toss to cook with the garlic, scraping up bits from the pan. Add 1/4 cup of half and half. Stir to combine and then add the cooked pasta. Add the bacon back to the pan, along with the frozen peas and the grated cheese. Stir everything together. Add some pasta water, a little at a time, until the desired creaminess.
After Thought Note: Add some chili pepper flakes for some heat.