Bacon Nation: 125 Irresistible Recipes (28 page)

We find that some lemon and white wine—although not part of the old-fashioned recipe—sharpen and lighten the traditional recipe. But, of course, you can eliminate the lemon altogether, if you prefer a more classic carbonara.

Half a small lemon

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 medium-size cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed with the flat side of a chef’s knife

6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into ¼- to ½-inch pieces

⅓ cup dry white wine

Salt

1 pound spaghetti or linguine

3 large eggs

⅔ cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, plus additional cheese for serving

¼ cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese

Freshly ground black pepper

1
Using a vegetable peeler remove the zest from the lemon half, being careful to remove only the yellow part and not the bitter white layer (the pith) beneath it. Chop or slice the zest into very thin slivers ½ to 1 inch long.

2
Bring 4 to 5 quarts of water to a rolling boil in a large pasta or soup pot.

3
While waiting for the water to boil, place the olive oil and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat and cook until the garlic turns golden, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove and discard the garlic. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the bacon, and cook until it is browned and most of the fat is rendered, 7 to 10 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Add the white wine and cook until the wine reduces slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the lemon zest. Remove the sauce from the heat and cover the skillet to keep the sauce warm.

4
Salt the boiling water. Add the spaghetti, stir to separate the strands, and cook until al dente, following the package instructions.

5
While the spaghetti cooks, break the eggs into a serving bowl large enough to hold the cooked spaghetti and the carbonara sauce. Beat the eggs with a fork. Add the Parmigiano Reggiano and pecorino romano cheese and a few generous gratings of pepper and stir to combine.

6
When the pasta is done, set aside ½ cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the spaghetti. Add the spaghetti to the serving bowl with the eggs and cheese and toss to coat the strands well. Add the bacon and lemon mixture to the spaghetti and toss to mix. If the spaghetti mixture seems too dry, add a little of the reserved pasta cooking water. Serve the spaghetti at once with more pepper and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese on the side for those who want it.

Serves 4

Bacon, tomatoes, and Parmigiano Reggiano: A food scientist will tell you that this comprises a trinity of umami savoriness. A food lover will simply say “Bring it!” It is a larder meal par excellence, made from ingredients that are always on hand. In the dead of winter canned or frozen oven-roasted tomatoes do the trick, but come early summertime, sweet cherry tomatoes make this rib-sticking stalwart into a lighter meal, well suited to the season. Our method of superheating the tomatoes in a very hot pan produces a pleasing char yet preserves juiciness.

You can serve this sauce with just about any shape pasta, but there is something special about bucatini, which is nothing more than hollow spaghetti. You get all the fun of slurping a forkful of spaghetti and then, as you draw air through the empty center of the bucatini, you draw in a jet of amatriciana-flavored vapor.

6 slices bacon, coarsely diced

1 medium-size onion, diced

Salt

1 pound bucatini

1 pound cherry tomatoes, stems removed

About ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

½ cup (2 ounces) best-quality freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1
Bring 4 to 5 quarts of water to a rolling boil in a large pasta or soup pot.

2
While waiting for the water to boil, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until browned and crisp and the fat is rendered, about 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, reserving 1 to 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in the skillet.

3
Add the onion to the bacon fat and cook over medium heat until soft and golden, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer the onion to a small bowl and set it aside. Wipe the skillet clean with a paper towel.

4
Salt the boiling water. Add the bucatini, stir to separate the strands, and cook until al dente, following the package instructions.

5
While the bucatini cooks, place the skillet over high heat. Place the tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a bowl and toss to mix. When the skillet is hot, add the tomatoes, shaking the skillet vigorously. If you get a flare-up from the tomatoes, it’s okay; it will char them nicely. Cook the tomatoes until charred, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium. Prick the tomatoes with a fork to release their juices. Add the onion and drained bacon to the skillet and continue cooking.

6
When the pasta is done, drain the bucatini and add it to the skillet. Add the parsley, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and crushed red pepper flakes and toss to combine. If the bucatini mixture seems too dry, toss it with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Serve immediately.

Serves 3 to 4

We personally like the earthy “cabbagey” flavors of broccoli but we know there is a world of broccoli bashers (and cauliflower complainers) out there who are immune to the healthy-vegetable arguments advanced by moms everywhere. Fair enough. Here we hope to win some hearts by teaming up broccoli with garlic, fragrant lemon, and of course, bacon. Instead of cooking the broccoli to the point of soggy surrender, we sauté it lightly in bacon fat before finishing it in just a little water and lemon juice. The florets come out crisp-tender and appealingly green. All the ingredients retain their individual flavors and textures.

4 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into ¼- to ½-inch pieces

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more olive oil if necessary

Salt

8 ounces orecchiette (little ear-shaped pasta)

1 pound broccoli crowns, cut into 1- to 2-inch florets (about 5½ cups, from 1¼ pounds untrimmed broccoli)

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

3 tablespoons freshly grated pecorino romano cheese

Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

1
Bring 4 to 5 quarts of water to a rolling boil in a large pasta or soup pot.

2
While waiting for the water to boil, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until lightly browned and most of the fat is rendered, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, reserving 3 tablespoons of bacon fat in the skillet. If necessary, add enough olive oil to the skillet to measure 3 tablespoons.

3
Salt the boiling water. Add the orecchiette, stir to separate the pasta, and cook until al dente, following the package instructions.

4
While the orecchiette cooks, cook the broccoli (you want the broccoli to be ready to toss into the pasta as soon as it is drained). Heat the bacon fat in the skillet over medium heat until it begins to shimmer, about 30 seconds. Add the broccoli and garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute, stirring to coat the broccoli with the bacon fat. Increase the heat to high. Carefully remove about ¾ cup of boiling water from the pasta pot and add ½ cup of the water and the lemon juice to the skillet. Cover the skillet and cook the broccoli until it begins to turn bright green, about 2 minutes. Uncover the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and the broccoli is crisp-tender and bright green, 3 to 5 minutes longer. If all of the water has evaporated before the broccoli is cooked, add 1 to 2 tablespoons more pasta cooking water to the skillet.

5
When the pasta is cooked, drain it and return it to the cooking pot. Add the broccoli, the drained bacon, 1 tablespoon olive oil, the lemon zest, and pecorino romano cheese to the steaming pasta. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper, if desired. Toss the pasta well to combine and serve immediately.

Serves 3 as a main dish, 4 as first course

Years ago nobody ate kale, at least nobody we knew, but with the growth of locally sourced food and farmers’ markets we’ve discovered just how great this readily available late-season green is. Kale stands up to the salty smokiness of bacon and the nutmeg adds a nutty, floral, spicy note, like the finish you get from a glass of red wine.

You really should prepare the sauce as the pasta cooks so that at precisely the moment when the pasta is done, the sauce is ready and the flavors are at their peak. Feel free to use other kinds of pasta, but choose a pasta that’s not too thin, one with some heft or thickness. Fettuccine coils nicely around the bacon and the greens. Perciatelli, pappardelle, or even linguine would all work.

We cook the kale first in a pot of boiling water and then boil the pasta in the same kale-enriched water. Finally we use a little of the very same flavorful cooking water to make the kale and bacon sauce for the pasta. (We like adding a little pasta water to finish the sauce. The starchy cooking water leaves a tad of pleasant creaminess and helps the sauce adhere to the pasta.)

5 slices bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces

Salt

8 ounces kale, tough stems and ribs removed and discarded, leaves coarsely chopped and rinsed

8 ounces fettuccine

Extra-virgin olive oil, as necessary

3 medium-size cloves garlic, thinly sliced

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste

½ cup low-sodium chicken stock

½ cup (2 ounces) finely, freshly grated pecorino romano cheese, plus additional cheese for serving

Freshly grated nutmeg (see Note)

1
Bring 4 to 5 quarts of water to a rolling boil in a large pasta or soup pot.

2
While waiting for the water to boil, place the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat and cook until lightly browned and most of the fat is rendered, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, reserving the bacon fat in the skillet.

3
Salt the boiling water. Add the kale and blanch it, uncovered, for about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer the kale to a sieve or colander to drain.

4
Let the cooking water return to a boil. Add the fettuccine, stir to separate the strands, and cook until al dente, following the package instructions.