Rosemary Carbonara Pasta
adapted from An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler
3 slices bacon
2 eggs
2-3 cups egg noodles
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon olive oil
pepper
cheese, to taste
Fill a pot with water and heat over medium-high and bring to a boil. While the water is heating, cook the bacon in a saucepan on medium. I like to cook it a little more than normal, so it gets crunchy. Fish the cooked bacon out of the pan, but save the grease in the pan and turn the heat down to low. At about this time, the water in my pot was boiling, so I added the egg noodles to cook for 10 minutes. Since we were eating just pasta for lunch, I used 3 cups. But, if I were serving it for dinner (with a side dish) then I'd only make 2. When cooked, save 1/4 cup of the pasta water then strain the pasta. Separate the pasta into dishes, then crumble the bacon over it.
Crack your eggs into the saucepan and fry in the bacon grease over low heat. I leave the yolks pretty runny, so it adds to the sauce. When cooked, add one egg to each dish of pasta, then return the pan to the stove. Add to the pan: olive oil, rosemary, and a dash of pepper. Mix together as its heating, then add half of the saved pasta water and continue mixing. After a few minutes, pour the sauce over the pasta. Top with cheese of choice, we used feta but parmesan is traditionally used with carbonara sauce. Serve alone or with a side of oven-roasted brussel sprouts.
I'm a huge fan of putting eggs on pasta, but I'm usually greeted with disgusted reactions when I mention the idea. (Almost everyone comes around once they try it.) Do you have any favorite food combinations that seem too weird on the surface?
