BLT Spaghetti Carbonara
Now that I’ve used up my zucchini (you’re thinking oh thank goodness…..not a zucchini post again, right? 😀 ). Well the tomatoes are coming on strong! Are you in the same boat? We have been enjoying BLT sandwiches almost every night, but hey man can’t live on BLT’s alone right?
BLT Spaghetti Carbonara
Anyway even if you could, why would you want to? Why when you can have BLT Spaghetti Carbonara!
BLT Spaghetti Carbonara
What? Yes….that’s correct….this is bacon, lettuce and tomato spaghetti carbonara!
BLT Spaghetti Carbonara
And it is oooey-cheesey goodness! The hot noodles melt the cheese, cooks the eggs and wilts the lettuce. It all happens in just 30 minutes or less – it’s the perfect weeknight meal!
BLT Spaghetti Carbonara
Plus since you get to use up those tomatoes coming on in the garden right now, you feel like you’re doing something good for yourself….right? Well in my own defense, I did use low carb pasta so that makes it ok as long as you don’t overload your plate. I think this is meal just delicious and I bet you will too! 😀 Wanna give it a try? Here’s the recipe;
BLT Spaghetti Carbonara
Ingredients
- 8-10 slices thick cut bacon
- 3-4 tomatoes chopped
- 1 cups head romaine lettuce or 2 spinach chopped. (You can also use 2 cups chopped kale*, see notes below),
- 1 red onion diced
- 1 clove garlic minced (2 if small)
- 1/4 cup basil torn or cut into strips - a chiffonade
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese plus an additional 1/2 cup to sprinkle on top at the end.
- 1 1 lb package dry spaghetti
- 1 cup spaghetti cooking liquid
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut the bacon into lardons and place in a cold pan on the stove (this is a great time to use your cast iron skillet, it crisps up the bacon so nicely). Turn the heat onto medium to medium/low and cook the bacon until crisp.
- Cook the pasta according to package directions to al-dente'. You'll want to time this to get done about the same time the onions are finished sautéing.
- Add the parmesan cheese to a bowl, crack both of the eggs into the parmesan and mix it together well, set aside.
- Time to chop the vegetables. Chop the onion, tomatoes, lettuce and mince the garlic. When the bacon is crispy, remove it from the pan. Drain some of the bacon grease from the pan, keep a little more than a tablespoon in the pan. Also keep all of those good bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan - love that flavor! Increase the heat to medium. Next add the onions and sauté. *If you choose to use kale instead of romaine lettuce, add it to the pan at the same time as the onions and sauté'. Sauté the onions for about 5 minutes until they become translucent. Add the garlic to the pan and sauté for about a minute.
- By now the pasta should be done and ready to drain. Keep one cup of the pasta cooking liquid and drain the rest. Turn the heat off in the saute pan and add the hot pasta to the pan. Then immediately add the egg-parmesan mixture and start mixing to combine. After about 2 minutes, add in the bacon, tomatoes and romaine lettuce - continue mixing. You'll need to add water as you're mixing - probably nearly all of it to loosen up the sauce. The pasta should be silky in texture, not clumpy and stuck together, you'll get that by adding the pasta water in bit by bit.
- Mix it together with a pair of tongs - it seems like it takes a long time to mix, but really give it 3-4 minutes of good mixing, it spreads the flavors thru-out the pasta. Finishing by adding several twists of freshly ground black pepper and sprinkling on the basil and additional parmesan cheese (if desired).
Nutrition
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