Pasta alla Carbonara con Portabella and a side of Broccoli Rabe

This will probably be the last post for a while...I won't be cooking while on vacation.

OK boys, before you start getting hung up on the Eye-talian words, how does pasta with bacon and eggs grab ya?  alla Carbonara means "Charcoal Maker's Style".  Now I don't know any charcoal makers, and we haven't used the stuff since getting a gas grill.  But supposedly these charcoal makers came home from work and all they had was a hunk of pancetta to go with their pasta.

The broccoli rabe is a bitter green vegetable with broccoli florets and leaves.  It is a type of broccoli but the strong flavor may not appeal to everyone.  I just saute garlic in olive oil (does it seem like 90% of my cooking begins with olive oil and garlic?) then toss in the broccoli rabe after cutting off the tough stems, with a little water and let it steam for a few minutes.  (This veggie goes good with Italian sausage).

Broccoli Rabe

Well,  back to the pancetta - the Italian "bacon" that is NOT smoked.  If you use smoked bacon, just forget it, I won't talk to you. This recipe is based on an old cookbook "the Romagnoli's Table" by Margaret and Franco Romagnoli where the Carbonara recipe is not adulterated with heavy cream like you find in many Italian restaurants.  Way too heavy on the stomach.  Margaret actually called for salt pork rather than pancetta because, when the book was written, you couldn't find pancetta anywhere in the USA outside of maybe New York or Chicago.  But, definitely use pancetta, it is delectable and salty, but not overly salty.  

Pancetta, sliced at the deli

Baby Portabella Mushrooms - sorry for the blurrrrr

I used the following for my Carbonara:

2-3 pieces of garlic
olive oil
1/4 pound pancetta, sliced and diced
1/4 pound Baby Bella mushrooms, sliced
Fresh ground Black Pepper
13 oz box of Whole Grain Linguine
2 eggs beaten with a few grinds of black pepper added

Just added

Nicely cooked

Get your spaghetti pot of salted water on to boil. 

Put olive oil in the trusty cast iron skillet, add the garlic over high heat for a few minutes.
Add the pancetta and the mushrooms, saute until the pancetta begins to brown but not too crispy.
When the water boils, add the pasta (spaghetti is traditional, but I used "healthy" whole grain linguini) and cook until "al dente" according to the box directions.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, vigorously beat 2 eggs with some fresh ground pepper until foamy.

When the pasta is done, quickly drain and add the pasta while very hot to the bowl with the beaten eggs.  Toss IMMEDIATELY to "cook" the eggs with the hot pasta; add the pancetta and mushrooms with any oil from the pan and toss again, to coat the pasta with the "sauce".

Tossed

Serve with grated parmigiano reggiano.  Dinner's Ready!