Рецепт There’s no cream in carbonara!
Or at least, there shouldn’t be. But I wasn’t about to tell that to the waitress at the restaurant I was at last night in Boston’s North End for my work-BFFs birthday. I’m not sure what possessed me to order it anyway; I think I was dazzled by the talk of lobster, diver scallops and ‘jumbo’ shrimp [ps, they looked more like 21/25 to me!].
But that reminded me of my own carbonara dish that I had yet to post; it was incredibly good and even though I always think of carbonara being a heavy dish, this was so light and flavorful that I regret not making it sooner. It was delicioso! See? Those are my Italian roots showing.
This is slightly less than authentic, but I’m not charging you $25 to eat my not-authentic food, am I? AM I? NO! And you know why? Because nothing I cook ever comes out exactly the same. I can follow the same recipe over and over again, yet inevitably I change something. It’s like my food is as unpredictable as my moods! Hee, sorry husband!
So without further ado, I bring you: Michelle’s Langostino Carbonara!
- 6 oz spaghetti/linguine/fettuccine
- 12 oz langostino (or lobster/shrimp/etc)
- 2 whole eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 oz of Pecorino Romano, freshly grated
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon pepper seasoning, or to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 oz pancetta, diced
- 1 large carrot, julienned
- 10 – 12 stalks of asparagus
Preheat oven to 200 F. Once oven is heated, place bowls in there to keep warm. Bring pot of salted water to a boil; add pasta. In a small bowl, whisk together whole eggs, egg yolks, lemon pepper seasoning, and grated cheese. In a medium sized pan, heat olive oil. Once hot, add in diced pancetta and cook until fat renders. Remove pancetta to a a plate lined with paper towels; drain off all but two teaspoons of fat from the pan.
Add in the carrots and asparagus and cook until tender. Add back in the pancetta and heat through. Set aside. Once the pasta is cooked to your preference, reserve 1/3 cup of pasta water and then drain pasta. Add pasta into the pan with the veggie mixture, along with egg mixture and toss to coat. If the sauce is too thick, add some of the reserved water. Serve immediately in warmed bowls.
Again, this is so good. I can’t say enough good things about this incredibly simple dish. Also, please note that when I say “lemon pepper seasoning” I don’t mean the crap that is powdered and bright yellow. I mean the stuff you can buy at Trader Joe’s or any other store worth its salt, that has whole black peppercorns, dried lemon peel and sea salt with a grinder on top. The lemony flavor adds so much to the dish and obviously complements the seafood and asparagus beautifully.