Carbonara Healthier With Greens

photo by Rita1652





- Ready In:
- 35mins
- Ingredients:
- 12
- Serves:
-
4
ingredients
- 1⁄2 lb pasta (cooked al dente according to package saving pasta water)
- 1 -2 tablespoon olive oil (1/2 Part butter or bacon fat can be used)
- 1⁄2 onion, diced
- 2 cups chopped swiss chard or 2 cups spinach, chopped
- 1⁄2 cup sliced swiss chard, stems
- 1⁄8 cup basil leaves, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1⁄2 serrano chili, minced (pepper flakes to taste is a tatsy sub)
- 1⁄4 cup grated pecorino romano cheese
- 1⁄2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
- 4 eggs, freshest is best and room temperature
- bacon bits, Oven Cooked Bacon With Black Pepper and Brown Sugar (optional)
directions
- Place olive oil and or bacon fat or butter in a large pan over medium high heat, add onions and saute for 3 minutes. Add the sliced swiss chard stem and saute for 2 more minutes, add garlic and pepper flakes saute for 3 minutes. Add swiss chard greens or baby spinach and basil and 1/2 cup pasta water to wilt.
- Fill a small pot with boiling pasta water with at least 4 inches and a 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar. Break each egg one at a time in to a small bowl then into the simmering water cover and poach for 3-4 minutes.
- Meanwhile toss cheese, black pepper and pasta in the vegetable mixture. Add additional pasta water and or olive oil to your liking.
- Plate the pasta mixture on to 4 plates.
- Remove eggs from water with slotted spoon place one on each plate of pasta.
- Garnish with bacon bits, additional pepper, cheese and basil if desired.
- Before digging in break the poached egg and stir in to the pasta.
- This`ll make it a creamy, yummy, comforting dish. Enjoy!
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Reviews
-
Wow! This is incredibly yummy!! Had to write a review (and I'm not even done eating yet). I skipped the bacon entirely. Didn't have any fresh basil, so I just sprinkled in some dried. Fried the eggs because I've never poached an egg and I was worried I would screw it up. ;-) Used red chile pepper flakes since I didn't have fresh. Oh, and I didn't have any spaghetti, linguine, or fettucine (I was shocked), so I used gemelli (kind of like a tight rotini) and it worked just fine. Next time, I would add even more of the chard stems -- they really picked up all the flavors of the dish and added a great texture. I'm always looking for new ways to use the chard that seems to come every week in our organic produce delivery and this recipe is definitely a keeper. Thanks!!
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Yum! This was a really tasty supper that is surprisingly hearty and was well-received by my whole (carnivorous!) crew, and the inclusion of chard put it over the top for me! I used 1/2 olive oil and 1/2 Smart Balance with tasty results, and crushed red pepper for the chiles since I was feeding it to a 2 year old. I was a bit concerned about the amount of black pepper being too much, but it was spot on. I took a different approach with the eggs based on other pseudo-carbonara recipes I've made: I beat the eggs, cheese, and pepper together, then combined them with the hot noodles after they were finished cooking. When I put the noodles in the veggie pan the eggs cooked through, and a bit of pasta water made for a nice consistency. I'm sure it was not as creamy as runny egg would make it, but DH is averse to such things so I do what I can :). I also added a generous amount of kosher salt, which really made the simple flavors (chard and onion especially) shine. Thanks for posting--we have a new keeper veg recipe! Made for Veg Swap 28.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Rita1652
Jamesburg, New Jersey