Shrimp & Asparagus Carbonara

 

Greetings Glutards! So I was in an Italian kick again last week and wanted to attempt a dish I have never tried before. I still had a slab of bacon in the fridge, so I figured I would work that into whatever I made. But what Italian treat involves bacon? The answer, my friends, is Carbonara.

Carbonara is an Italian pasta dish based around eggs, cheese, bacon (or pancetta), and black pepper. The eggs and cheese are whipped together and added to the hot pasta to form a creamy sauce. Sounds super simple, right? Well, let's dive right in and see..

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 pound dry gluten free pasta or your choice (I used fusilli)
• 4 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
• 6 ounces bacon or pancetta, chopped into small pieces
• 5 cloves or garlic, finely chopped
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup grated asiago cheese
• 18-24 shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 3/4 cup chopped asparagus
• Freshly ground black pepper
• A touch of Half & Half

Here's how ya do:

Start by boiling your pasta. You'll want to get that working while you move onto cooking your other ingredients and making your sauce.

In a large fry pan (or a cheap Ikea wok works just fine too) heat up your 4 tablespoons of oil on a medium heat. Add your bacon and fry that up until it's at your desired crispiness. Mmmm, bacon frying is probably the best smell ever...

Next, toss in your shrimp, garlic, and asparagus. Sautee the whole thing around until the shrimp are fully cooked. They will turn a bright pink color when they are ready.

Beat together your eggs and grated cheese. Make sure it is well mixed and there are no large lumps floating around. Add a touch of half and half and mix it around.

Once your pasta is cooked and drained, add it to your pan with your shrimp, bacon and asparagus. Give it a good stir and make sure all the ingredients are partying together nicely. Remove the pan from the heat.

Here's where it gets fun and a little challenging. With your pan OFF THE HEAT, slowly add your egg/cheese mixture as you gently stir the pasta. If you do this over the heat, or add the liquid too quickly, your eggs may scramble. Nobody wants scrambled egg pasta, honey. You want to slowly stir the pasta until your sauce starts to thicken and turn into a cream sauce. That's when you know you've done it right. Great job, guys!

To finish it all off, stir in your freshly ground black pepper.  I added a good bit, but season to your own tastes.

And that's about it! It's a semi-easy pasta creation that is sure to impress your friends. Hey, bacon always makes everyone come running to a dinner party...

Glutardedly Yours,

~Tim

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*This recipe is adapted from Tyler Florence’s, which can be found by clicking here*