On Recipes: Pasta Carbonara (with Leeks and Lemon)

Tonight I made this:

Ok, no, I didn't personally take this picture, but really... can you blame me?

I didn't have time. The Lieutenant and I were too busy scarfing down this delicious meal. 

This is Pasta Carbonara with Leek and Lemon from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine (and the photo was borrowed from her website). Now I know that people have rather strong opinions on Martha, but as I explained here, I feel that despite her recent bad press she is still a reliable source when it comes to cooking and home decor.

This recipe supports the above assumption. 

I halved the recipe for The Lieutenant and I and ended up with EXACTLY the right amount, which was somewhat of a triumph for me, as I almost always overestimate the amount of food I need to feed us. This recipe includes bacon which, let's face it, is a general man-pleaser. If you have a man in your life, try this recipe. Even if he isn't a pasta guy, I bet he'll like it. 

Traditionally (and in this case) a carbonara sauce is made with raw eggs that are combined with boiling water and then tossed with pasta. In theory, the eggs are partially cooked by the time they are combined with the pasta and consumed. I know that this recipe has been prepared this way for many years, but also understand that some people may be concerned about eating undercooked eggs. If it's something that bothers you, skip it and try one of the other recipes I've blogged about in the past. If you're looking for pasta, I recommend THIS ONE by The Pioneer Woman. :]

Modifications:

I used medium shells (conchiglie) instead of the orecchitte that the recipe called for, which worked out just fine. I think you could use any short pasta with this recipe and have a good result. Long pasta might not work as well, since it tends to soak up more sauce, and the sauce with this dish is fairly light. 

I put in about half (so 1/4 of what the original recipe called for) of the lemon zest and juice. I am not always crazy about lemon in savory dishes because I think it tends to overpower, but in this recipe I like the addition of the lemon (although it's not traditionally included in a carbonara) because it brightened up the dish and made it feel much more appropriate for a spring/summer day. I think halving the lemon in this recipe provided just the right amount.

And now a word about leeks. Leeks (like shallots) seem to be very trendy lately. Rarely do I see a recipe that calls for onions anymore, it's always leeks and shallots, leeks and shallots. Not that I have anything against these cousins of the onion (in fact I quite like them) but the fact remains that trendy can sometimes = pricey. For instance: I can buy a 3 LB bag of onions for $2.00 OR I can buy 2 leeks for $2.00. My point here is that if you are trying to conserve (as I'm sure most of us are right now) you can usually substitute. No the flavor won't be exactly the same, but if you take the time to caramelize the onions (I would use 1/2-1 whole onion depending on the size) you will still end up with a delicious end-result. Don't think you have to stick to the premium ingredients to end up with a great dish. 

This recipe comes with the recommendation of The Lieutenant, who has added it to his new favorites list

To view the entire recipe, click here