A creamy, decadent pasta dish made from simple ingredients brightened with Preserved Meyer Lemon. If you have bacon, eggs, cheese and pasta on hand, you can whip up this dish in less than 30 minutes. It’s satisfying and a bit sinful so we added peas to assuage guilt, and If & When to amp up the pleasure.
Serves 2.
Need
6 ounces rigatoni
3 ounces slab bacon, guanciale (Italian pork cheek, for added smoky flavor) or pancetta (Italian bacon) cut in 1/2” thick strips
1 oz pecorino cheese, grated + more to taste (parmesan works, too)
1 tsp Bay Leaf Preserved Meyer Lemon + more to taste
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper (essential) + more to taste
1 large egg yolk
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 cup frozen peas (optional)
Do
Meat -
Heat 1 TBS olive oil in a medium-to-large skillet over medium heat. Cook pork until tender and crisp, but not burned, about 5+ minutes. Add garlic and stir often. Cook until soft - about 4+ minutes.
While the meat cooks, heat frozen peas in microwave and set aside. Add the pepper to the skillet and give it a good stir with the other ingredients, for about a minute or two, until fragrant.
Pasta -
Cook pasta in salted water until al dente and drain. Set aside about 3/4 cup of the pasta water. Stir Preserved Lemon Paste into the reserved pasta water.
Ideally, you want the skillet ingredients ready a few moments before the pasta is drained. Lower the heat slightly on the skillet if it looks as if the ingredients may over cook. Garlic is not patient.
Everything -
Add pasta to the skillet with about half the preserved lemon cooking liquid and the pecorino. Toss to coat and begin to melt the cheese. Remove pan from heat.
Add the egg yolk to coat the paste, while adding more lemony pasta water for a glossy sheen. Add the peas and more Preserved Lemon to taste, for a brighter finish.
Divide among two pasta bowls, serve with fresh pepper to taste.
Notes
For added lemony bite, add more preserved lemon to the skillet with the garlic. We experimented with different approaches to making a carbonara and sometimes didn't quite get it right, but it still tasted delicious, just with different textures.
For example, "mixing" the egg and cheese may scramble the eggs when it is blended with the paste in the skillet, especially if the heat is too high.
Didn't matter, thought, we licked our plates clean.
Adapted from this recipe, "Bucatini with Lemony Carbonara," from Bon Appetit magazine, March 2017
