Orrechiette Carbonara Recipes

ORRECHIETTE CARBONARA

Steps:

• Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel to drain. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet if necessary. Add leeks and sauté over medium heat until tender, about 6 minutes. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid.
• Whisk eggs and 1/2 cup Parmesan in medium bowl to blend; gradually whisk in 1/4 cup pasta cooking liquid. Add pasta to leeks in skillet and stir to heat. Remove skillet from heat. Pour egg mixture over pasta and stir until sauce is just creamy and eggs are no longer raw, about 2 minutes. (Return skillet to very low heat if egg mixture is runny; do not overcook or eggs will curdle.) Add some of remaining 1/4 cup pasta cooking liquid to pasta if needed to moisten. Stir in bacon and parsley. Serve pasta, passing additional cheese separately.

ORECCHIETTE WITH CRAB

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil and salt it liberally, drop in pasta and cook to al dente.
• While pasta cooks, heat olive oil, 3 turns of the pan, over medium heat. Add mushrooms, celery, shallots and garlic, cook 4 to 5 minutes then add tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, raise heat to medium-high and cook tomatoes until they burst, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in peas and crab, heat through 2 minutes then add hot sauce and wine, reduce wine a minute then stir in stock, heat 1 minute more then add cream - a turn of the pan, parsley, tarragon. Adjust seasonings. Drain pasta and toss with sauce, sprinkle with cheese to taste, optional.

ORECCHIETTE CARBONARA WITH CHARRED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over high heat. Working in batches, add Brussels sprout leaves and cook, tossing occasionally, until charred in spots and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes; transfer to a plate and set aside. Wipe out skillet.
• Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente (about 5 minutes for fresh pasta). Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.
• Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in same skillet over medium heat. Add guanciale and cook, stirring often, until slightly crisp, about 4 minutes. Add pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Immediately add 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid to keep pasta from burning; reduce heat to low and gradually add butter, swirling skillet and adding more pasta cooking liquid as needed, until a thick, glossy sauce forms. (Taste as you go and switch to hot water once sauce is adequately seasoned.)
• Add pasta to skillet and toss to coat. Add Pecorino; toss to combine. Remove from heat; mix in egg yolks. Add reserved Brussels sprout leaves; toss, adding pasta cooking liquid (or hot water) as needed to thin sauce.
• Serve pasta topped with more Pecorino.

ORECCHIETTE CARBONARA WITH PEAS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. In a large sauté pan, place bacon and pancetta in oil over medium-low heat. Cook until bacon is browned and has rendered most of its fat. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of fat, leaving meat in the pan. Scrape in onion and garlic, and sauté until glassy and translucent, then add peas and thyme. Cook for 1 minute, then turn off heat.
• In a large mixing bowl, lightly whisk together eggs, egg yolks and cheese.
• When water comes to a rolling boil, stir in pasta and cook until tender but still a little chewy in the center (like a piece of gum). Ladle out a cup of cooking water, and reserve. Drain pasta, and pour it into sauté pan with bacon; grind coarse pepper over top. Fold pasta into sauce.
• Tip pasta into egg mixture, and fold it all together quickly, so eggs cook and coat pasta with a velvety sauce. Add pea tendrils (or spinach), and fold once more. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding a generous squeeze of lemon juice. Add a little pasta water if it becomes too thick. Spoon into shallow bowls, and sprinkle with parsley.