2 ingredients make up this velvety carbonara sauce. Eggs. Parmesan Cheese. The trick here is to never place the eggs over direct heat (you don't want scrambled eggs). Instead you use a heated bowl and hot noodles to turn these 2 ingredients into a glossy creamy sauce you'll have to taste to believe.
Spaghetti Carbonara gets a bad wrap for being a heavy, unhealthy meal when really it can be kept pretty healthy, especially when made at home with a few of our #brainsandbalance tricks.
We sub pancetta or regular bacon for turkey bacon. I use the peppered turkey bacon from #traderjoes because it adds a little extra peppery flavor that I love. I also just love the overall taste and texture of this turkey bacon (some brands I find rubbery and not worth it).
I also added tons of fiber, volume and texture with zoodles and peas.
I kept the pasta portions normal (2 oz/person) so the end result was a larger serving but the same amount of pasta just packed with zucchini, just how it like it!! Seriously, I always make my pasta this way. If you haven't tried it, beware, you may never have a regular bowl of pasta again. If you are looking to cut carbs, you could half the pasta or remove it entirely and increase the zoodles.
When I asked my boyfriend (who is very Italian but is much more into the eating than the cooking) what he thought was in the sauce he guessed butter. flour and cream. That just goes to show how velvety this carbonara sauce is.
Low Carb Spaghetti Carbonara
2 servings | Cook time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
4 oz bucatini or spaghetti pasta
400g spiraled zucchini (~3.5 cups or 2 large zucchinis)
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
4 slices turkey bacon (I used #traderjoes peppered turkey bacon)
1/4 cup frozen peas
2 tbsp grated parmesan
Directions:
Dice bacon into small pieces. Heat olive oil to sauté pan and add in bacon to cook, stirring occasionally.
On another burner, heat a medium pot of water. While the water is heating, steam the zucchini over top of the water.
Bring the water a boil. Once boiling, remove the zucchini (don’t overstep them) and set aside. Salt the water, stir in the pasta and cook according to package, stirring occasionally.
In a bowl whisk together the egg and egg yolk until well combined (Note: to separate the yolk from the white- crack it over a discard bowl keeping the egg entirely in one half of the egg shell. Pass the yolk back and forth between each shell half while the white falls to the discard bowl- save the egg white to add protein to eggs or other dishes).
Season the eggs generously with salt and pepper and whisk in parmesan cheese until well combined.
Once the bacon is cooked, add the zucchini to the sauté pan and toss to combine, allowing the excess liquid to steam off while it cooks. Then, stir in the frozen peas.
When the pasta is done, place a colander in a large bowl and pour pasta and water over. Remove the colander with the pasta from the bowl. The hot water should remain to heat the bowl.
After ~2 minutes, reserve 1/2 cup of water, drain the rest.
Return the pasta to the heated large bowl. Pour 1/4 of the egg and cheese mixture at a time over the pasta tossing constantly with tongs. The egg will cook due to the warm bowl and pasta. Do not place the egg over a burner or it will turn into scrambled eggs. The sauce will get nice and glossy. Continue tossing while adding the zucchini, bacon and peas.
Serve immediately topped with extra parmesan and fresh cracked pepper.
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Nutrition Facts are provided as a guideline only. Exact nutrition will depend on quantity, brand and ingredients used.
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