It’s still citrus season and this Lemony Carbonara Pasta from Ted Cavanaugh at Bon Appetit uses lemon juice and zest very nicely.
It’s a fairly easy recipe that’s quick to throw together as along as you have all of your ingredients prepped. It also uses up a couple of egg yolks that I had leftover from the Peanut Butter Pretzel Cake last week!
The result is a tasty, basic pasta dish that doesn’t have a bunch of weird ingredients. I halved the original recipe and used bacon instead of guanciale (salt-cured pork jowl). Darn, I ran out of pork jowl a couple of days ago.
The hot pasta will cook the yolks without scrambling them and creates a creamy, light sauce that goes very well over your pasta of choice.
Pair Lemony Carbonara Pasta with some nice garlic bread and maybe a little salad and you’ve got a great dinner in front of you!
Lemony Carbonara Pasta (Cooking for Two)
Very good, hearty pasta dish that's easy on the ingredients. Pair with some fresh garlic bread.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 3 oz sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2" pieces, (2-3 slices)
- 2 tbsp onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, diced
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 6 oz spaghetti, or your favorite pasta
- 1 oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, plus a little more for the final dish
- 2 large egg yolks, stirred lightly with a fork
- 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Boil a large pot of salted water and add pasta. Cook and stir occasionally until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain and reserve 3/4 cup of the pasta water.
- While pasta is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the bacon pieces, stirring often, until browned and slightly crisp, 3-4 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and stir occasionally until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the pepper and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Turn heat to low.
- Add the drained pasta to the pan with the bacon mixture along with 1/4 cup of the pasta water and 1/2 of the Parmesan cheese. Toss to coat.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and add the egg yolks, stirring while adding them. Toss again and add remaining pasta water if needed. The sauce should be smooth and glossy.
- Add the grated lemon zest, lemon juice and the other 1/2 of the Parmesan. Toss to coat, taste, and season with salt if needed.
- Divide the pasta among the bowls and add more grated Parmesan if desired.
Notes
Tips and Stuff:
The original recipe called for shallots, so if you have them feel free to use them.
Be sure and use most of the pasta water to thin the sauce - it will thicken upon sitting for a minute and you need the water so it won't thicken and be gluey.
Next time I'll probably use a little less lemon juice, but hey, it's called Lemony Carbonara Pasta, so it's up to you.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1 servingAmount Per Serving: Calories: 638Total Fat: 32gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 333mgSodium: 1053mgCarbohydrates: 52gFiber: 3gSugar: 2gProtein: 35g
Nutrition Values are Approximate