Pasta Carbonara Florentine

Spinach is not something that I eat often. I don't dislike it, its just not something that I'm full of ideas for! But, it is Super healthy and should be eaten more often. So, to pull myself in, I combined it with pasta, eggs, and bacon! Pasta Carbonara is a pasta dish made with spaghetti, bacon, Parmesan cheese and eggs. Tonight I used fettuccine because I had some Buitoni left over from a previous sale that needed to be used. There are many different ways to make this. Just about everybody has a recipe for it. I chose one from Cooking Light tonight. The original recipe called for the bacon to be cooked in a skillet, and then the onion sauteed in the bacon drippings. I saved a little bit of "healthy" and cooked the bacon in the microwave, and sauteed the onions in a teaspoon of olive oil. The eggs and Parmesan cheese essentially become the "sauce". Very Yummy! I ate this as-is tonight, but it could be served with grilled chicken or asparagus. You could also leave the spinach out (its not traditionally in Pasta Carbonara) and serve a spinach salad on the side!



1 6-oz. package baby spinach
6 slices bacon
1 cup onion, finely chopped (I used about 1/2 cup)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
8 oz. spaghetti (or whatever long pasta you have on-hand)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg
1 large egg white

Heat large skillet over medium heat. Saute spinach and a pinch of salt in 1 teaspoon olive oil for 1-2 minutes, until wilted. Remove and set aside.

Cook bacon and set aside. (I cooked mine in the microwave while the onions were sauteing)

Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in same skillet and saute onion and garlic until tender, about 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add chicken broth; cook 3 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat. (I read the recipe wrong and added in 1 cup of chicken broth. I reduced it a little longer and it turned out fine!) Once reduced, remove from heat; keep warm.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain well, reserving 1 tablespoon of cooking liquid. Immediately add pasta and 1 tablespoon reserved cooking liquid to onion mixture in skillet. Add spinach and bacon; stir well to combine. Place skillet over low heat.

Combine cheese, egg, egg white, salt and pepper (to taste) and stir with a whisk. Add to pasta mixture, tossing well to coat. Cook 3 minutes over low heat. Remove from heat. Add salt and black pepper if needed. Black pepper is really good on this!



Enjoy!


(adpated from Cooking Light)