A bowl of pasta carbonara with asparagus.

Flavored with leeks and lemons, this pasta carbonara is especially fresh and light. With bacon and eggs on hand, dinner can be thrown together in a flash. Add asparagus and you have a (nearly) one-dish dinner on your hands.

This is simply a variation of my favoriteeasy weeknight dinnerwith the addition of asparagus, which adds about a minute more to your prep time but precludes the need to make any other sort of vegetable side dish — win win.

Ready to make it?

Fry some bacon. Sauté some onions. Cook some pasta. Blanch some asparagus. Whisk some eggs. Zest a lemon. Toss it all together, and watch how a no-cream light-on-the-cheese sauce transforms a simple pasta into a creamy-tasting, vegetable-loaded, one-pot wonder.

orecchiette and eggs

drained asparagus and orecchiette

A pan of pasta carbonara with asparagus.

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orecchiette carbonara

Orecchiette Carbonara with Asparagus — 2nd Easiest Weeknight Dinner

★★★★★

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Description

Source:Everyday Food

Ingredients

  • kosher salt and ground pepper
  • 6slices bacon, cut crosswise into1-inch pieces
  • 4leeks* (white and light-green parts only) or spring onions*, halved lengthwise, rinsed well, and thinly sliced
  • 3/4pound short pasta, such as campanelle or orecchiette
  • 3/4pound of asparagus, ends trimmed
  • 2large eggs
  • 1/2 ounce帕尔玛、碎(1/4 cup), plus more for serving (optional)
  • 1 tablespoonfinely grated lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 cupfresh parsley leaves, coarsely chopped (optional — I didn’t use them this time around)*If you don’t have leeks or onions, any onion will do — finely chop about a half cup or more of whatever onion you have on hand.

Instructions

  1. Set a large pot of salted water to boil. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet. (I do not pour off any fat… ) Add leeks, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often, until leeks are golden brown, about 10 minutes.
  2. Add pasta to pot and cook according to package instructions. Meanwhile, cut asparagus into 1.5- to 2-inch long pieces. In the last three minutes of the pasta cooking time, drop the asparagus into the pot of water.Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking liquid.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, Parmesan, and lemon zest and juice. Whisk 1/4 cup pasta water into egg mixture.
  4. Drain pasta and asparagus and immediately add to egg mixture, along with bacon, leeks, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Sprinkle with more cheese if desired and serve immediately. Note: If you’re nervous about the egg not cooking, just throw the whole mixture back into a large skillet over medium heat for a minute or two.
  • Prep Time:15 minutes
  • Cook Time:20 minutes
  • Category:Dinner
  • Method:Stovetop
  • Cuisine:Italian

Keywords:pasta, carbonara, asparagus, spring

orecchiette carbonara with asparagus