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Pasta Carbonara w/Asparagus, Pancetta, & Lemon Herb Breadcrumbs a tasty pasta dish perfect for the weekend!
Does anyone like watching Rachael Ray?
I used to watch her all the time. Then, she got really annoying. Like, to the point that I had to watch her with the volume muted.
The lady is annoying but DANG, can she make some pretty awesome food. Which is why I haven’t completely cut her out of my weekend schedule.
Normal Saturday’s consist of waking up before Pioneer Woman comes on and eating breakfast while watching her make something far better than what I’m having at the moment, going through my “to make this weekend” list and usually cooking/baking all day. That’s only if we don’t have a crazy schedule for the weekend already planned. I try to only plan stuff in the evenings so I can get a day’s worth of cooking and natural light for photography. It’s funny I work my life around the natural light haha
I think on this one particular Saturday, J and I were hanging out in the afternoon, flipping through channels because nothing was on tv. When we flipped over Food Network, Rachael Ray was tossing together some gorgeous and creamy looking pasta. She had me at creamy. I can never pass up the chance to make creamy pasta. It’s my all time favorite type. We stopped to see what she was making and it was a version of pasta carbonara.
And it had PANCETTA and ASPARAGUS. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I had just recently bought about 3 pounds of asparagus. Besides my pee smelling foul due to the asparagus, I love asparagus paired with pancetta just as much as the next person. TMI? hehe
I pulled up the recipe on Food Network’s site and immediately put it on the menu for the coming week.
Rachael Ray, as much as you annoy me, you certainly never disappoint in your recipes. This was so yummy. I went along with the egged theme and used egg noodles. The lemon breadcrumbs you top this pasta with screams SPRINGTIME. It’s definitely a dish you need out on your dinner table sometime soon. It really is refreshing and creamy good at the same time.
Pasta Carbonara w/Asparagus, Pancetta, & Lemon Herb Breadcrumbs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound (454 g) egg noodles
- 1 pound (454 g) asparagus, tough ends trimmed then cut into 1-inch pieces on an angle
- ⅓ pound (151 g) pancetta, finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup (118 ml) dry white wine
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 cup (100 g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoon (28 g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (108 g) Italian breadcrumbs
- Zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
- In a large pot, bring water to a boil and season with salt.
- In a large skillet, over medium high heat, add the pancetta and cook for about 3 minutes. Then add in the garlic and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Add in the wine and reduce the heat to low.
- While it’s reducing, you can go ahead and add in your egg noodles to the pot of boiling water. Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the package. When pasta is halfway done, add in the asparagus to cook together. Once finished, drain pasta and asparagus, while reserving 1 cup of pasta water. Set pasta, asparagus, and water aside.
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt 2 tbsp. (28 g) of butter and add in the breadcrumbs and lemon zest. Stir until all combined and breadcrumbs are moistened. Set aside.
- Lightly beat the egg yolks in a small bowl and set aside.
- Now, you can add the pasta and asparagus to the skillet. Toss around and then add in the egg yolks. Turn off the heat and toss for 1 minute, adding in the reserved pasta water slowly to thin out the mixture. Stir in cheese. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Divide up the pasta in bowls and top with lemon breadcrumbs.
Notes
Nutrition
I wanna like Rachael I just…don’t. But I will say she has amazing dishes. This look delicious Julie!
Puts my “easy carbonarra” to shame for sure! I love the additional veggies and the breadcrumbs, adds some good flavor :)
This looks so good, Julie! Lemons & asparagus are always good in our house, can’t wait to give it a go!
I tape PW’s show and watch while I run on the treadmill :) I feel like I need to burn calories just watching! This looks YUM Julie!
I have not watched Rachel Ray in a very long time. She definitley annoys me. But she does have an un-ending wealth of recipes that are most often good. I think what hooked me about this recipe was of course the gorgeous picture but also LEMON HERB BREADCRUMBS!!!! Holy yum! I can’t wait to make this!!!
Rachel Ray is pretty goddang annoying. There’s something about her voice that just gets under my skin. But Jason and I like watching her shows because we always comment on her fluctuations in weight. Yeah, we’re kind of mean, aren’t we?
Anyway, love this dish Julie. It looks so refreshing, and I would never pass up a dish with pancetta. Yum!
This looks fantastic and totally worth the side effects you get. I just tried asparagus for the first time last year. Had no idea it was such a delight. I love a good creamy pasta too. This one fits the bill. I totally feel you on Rachel, something about her just sends me over the edge. I wish I could watch The Pioneer Woman. For some reason we don’t get it here in Canada. The Canuck version of Food Network is behind the times, it’s very sad.
OMG! Rachael Ray is sooooo annoying! Don’t like her or very many of her recipes. This looks fabulous though!
It’s been a LAWNG time since I’ve watched her, but I’ve gone blind just looking at this awesome dish I can barely picture her.
I am completely on your side with the Rachel Ray annoying as all hell train! I liked her when she was just cooking. None of the other crap. But when she is JUST COOKING woman can make some pretty yummy looking stuff. This one – no different. Looks awesome!