Friday, April 20, 2012

Farfalle with Carbonara and Spring Peas

It is time for another Recipe Swap time and this time the theme was a recipe from your favorite Celebrity Chef.  This recipe came from Nicole at Cookies on Friday.

I received a recipe from Jamie Oliver and was really excited.  My husband and I watched his shows about trying to revolutionize school lunches.  We really like the show and learned a lot about things like pink slime and the nutrition of things that they did serve in the schools.  So, when I got the recipe for the swap, I was excited because I've never thought of looking up anything about Jamie Oliver outside the show that I saw.

Farfalle with Carbonara and Spring Peas
barely modified from Jamie Oliver
Ingredients
lb farfalle
1 egg, preferably free-range or organic
3½ ounces heavy cream
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
8 slices smoked streaky bacon, roughly sliced
2 handfuls of fresh podded or frozen peas
2 handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
1) Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the farfalle, and cook according to the packet instructions.
2) Whisk the egg in a bowl with the cream, salt and pepper.
3)  Put the bacon into a skillet and cook until crispy and golden.
4) When the farfalle is nearly cooked, add the peas for the last minute and a half. 
5) When cooked, drain in a colander, saving a little of the cooking water.
6) Add the pasta to the bacon.
7) Now you need to add the egg and cream mix to the pasta. What's important here is that you add it while the pasta is still hot. This way, the residual heat of the pasta will cook the eggs, but not so that they resemble scrambled eggs. The pasta will actually cook the egg enough to give you a silky smooth sauce.
8) Toss together and loosen with a little of the reserved cooking water if necessary. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with the Parmesan, and serve as soon as possible.


I have to say that I thought this dish was just okay.  I used the original recipe, which called for mint, and that is all that I could taste in the dish.  I guess I think of mint as a dessert type thing lately, and so it doesn't seem like it works in savory dishes for me.  So, I edited my version not to have mint in it.  I also felt that the flavor profiles in the dish were inconsistent.  The bites with the cheese, pasta, peas and bacon were amazing.  However, if you didn't grab all of the components, the dish just tasted kind of bland.

2 comments:

  1. Bummer that your recipe wasn't more of a success, but hopefully you had fun with the swap!

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  2. I'm sorry it was disappointing. I wouldn't had added mint either - I think of that as a dessert herb even though I know people like it in savory dishes. If you want to try carbonara again I've got some killer recipes for you. :)

    Thanks for being part of the recipe swaps!

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