I picked up 3 pounds of asparagus at the farmer’s market on Saturday, intending to bring it to my Mom & Dad’s for Sunday lunch. I had forgotten that my Dad has it in his garden. Oops. So now DH and I have to figure out how to eat 3 pounds of asparagus, which won’t be hard. Tonight I made this main dish from The Food Matters Cookbook by Mark Bittman.
FOR PRINTABLE VERSION CLICK HERE: Pasta with Asparagus, Bacon, and Egg
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 ounces bacon, chopped
1 1/2 lb asparagus, cut into 2 inch pieces
8 ounces whole wheat pasta shells or ziti
2 eggs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
salt and pepper to taste
1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it. In a large skillet, put the oil and bacon and cook on medium heat until the bacon browns and softens.
2. About 5 minutes later, add the asparagus to the skillet with the bacon and raise the heat a bit and cook to desired doneness (5-10 minutes). Cook the pasta to desired doneness.
3. Meanwhile, warm a large bowl and beat the eggs in it. Stir the bacon (along with the drippings) and asparagus into the eggs.
4. Drain the pasta and add to the asparagus mixture. Add parmesan cheese and black pepper.
Servings: 4
Total Time: 30 minutes
The Verdict: Mark Bittman didn’t steer me wrong. I was a bit nervous about how the raw egg would work, but it made a delicious sauce. It was nice and hearty, and earned DH’s stamp of approval. Best of all, the eggs, bacon, and asparagus were all from the farmer’s market. Had I known I was going to make this recipe, I could have gotten the pasta, too.
Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/4 of a recipe (7.9 ounces).
Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients.
Amount Per Serving
Calories 483.17
Calories From Fat (46%) 221.93
% Daily Value
Total Fat 24.81g 38%
Saturated Fat 7.2g 36%
Cholesterol 130.53mg 44%
Sodium 372.92mg 16%
Potassium 397.73mg 11%
Total Carbohydrates 47.01g 16%
Fiber 3.52g 14%
Sugar 2.14g
Protein 18.31g 37%
This post shared at Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday, Hearth and Soul, Pennywise Platter Thursday, Frugal Food Thursday, Foodie Friday
This sounds and looks very good! I would be a bit hesitant about the raw egg as well, but I imagine it okay as you’re not eating it by itself.
OMG! This looks sooo gooood! My daughter is hovering on my shoulder and begging for me to make it. So it seems this is the pasta I’m making for pasta day next week!!!
yay! It IS super good.
The bacon, raw egg and cheese is the classic way of making real carbonara! so guess what you’ve just made authentic italian style carbonara (: btw you are so lucky to have asaparagus growing in your father’s backyard! I love asparagus and wish I could have 3 pounds to finish..
yay! Love when I learn something without realizing it. I think it’s the best way to learn 🙂
Perfect! We would totally be on-board with this tasty dish.
I hope my local market has asparagus that looks this good this weekend. So glad I found you from the Designs By Gollum link. If yo get a chance, I’d love for you to swing by Momtrends and share this on our Friday Food Linky.
http://www.momtrends.com/2011/05/recipe-linky-summer-salads/
Newly following from Foodie Friday! This looks so good! I wouldn’t have a problem with the eggs because I make carbonara all the time in much the same way and nobody’s kicked it yet around here! LOL
Thanks for sharing. Hope you stop by to say hello!
Mrs B
ha! Too funny. And a relief 🙂
Delicious! I was planning on making something like this for dinner. We love asparagus, and three pounds can disappear quickly in our house 🙂
We had this again tonight, another yummy meal 🙂
yay!