So the month of June begins and with it, comes my turn to host Little Thumbs Up June 2015! The theme for this month is Cream, and to start the linky party, I am sharing a recipe for Linguine Carbonara with Chicken, Pancetta, Mushrooms and Asparagus.
As you know, Linguine Carbonara is the LAM’s favorite pasta of all time.
He can eat Linguine Carbonara everyday, I think. Thankfully, he only gets to eat this when I have accumulated enough egg yolks. Yolks + Cream is not something I would feed anyone (no matter how tasty it is) every day!
This is the easiest pasta sauce you will ever make. This is because the sauce itself does not need cooking. All you need to do is to whisk together the yolks, cream and Parmesan and the heat from the pasta will “cook” the sauce.
This time, I added asparagus because I wanted more vegetables in the pasta. The LAM was not too keen on the additional veg, but the rule of the house is clear – eat what is on your plate or go cook it yourself! Hehe.
The richness of the cream and the robust flavor from the pancetta really complement the pasta sauce. It was really, really good.
Here are the instructions on how to make this super delicious pasta.
I started by dicing the pancetta. Pancetta is a whole lot more flavorful than bacon, I kid you not. You can buy pancetta from specialty delis like Jason’s and Oh’s Deli. If you cannot find pancetta where you live, you can always substitute this with bacon.
Saute the diced pancetta in a little olive oil in a skillet until they turn brown.
Remove from the pan and set aside. In the same skillet, add a little more olive oil and cook the chicken (seasoned with a little salt and pepper) until browned and cooked through.
Transfer this into the bowl containing the pancetta. Set this aside.
Add a little more olive oil. Saute diced onion for a minute, then add minced garlic. Cook this for 30 seconds before adding the mushrooms. Stir to mix, add chicken stock (or water) and cook this for 2-3 minutes, or until the mushrooms have wilted. Scrape the bottom of the pan to release the brown bits. These are full of flavor!
Add asparagus – I have snipped off the ends and diced the stems.
Season with salt and pepper and saute about 2 minutes – I like my vegetables crunchy so I do not cook them for long. Turn off the heat.
Cook the pasta according to the manufacturer’s instructions in a pot of salted boiling water. While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce by whisking together egg yolks, cream, half the Parmesan and lots of freshly ground black pepper.
Once the pasta is cooked, add the pasta to the sauce. The heat from the pasta will “cook” the egg yolks. Toss to coat the pasta.
Add the remaining Parmesan and toss again to mix.
Serve the pasta immediately, topped with the other ingredients.
Just. Go. Cook. This. 🙂
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- 1 chicken breast (2 halves), skin removed and diced
- 100g pancetta, diced
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 80g mushrooms, sliced
- 1 pack asparagus, tips snipped off and stems diced
- 3 tablespoons chicken stock or water
- 500g pasta - I used linguine
- Salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- 3 egg yolks
- 5 tablespoons (75ml) heavy cream
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- Black pepper, to taste
- Salt, to taste
- Start by dicing the pancetta. Saute the pancetta in a little olive oil in a skillet until they turn brown.
- Remove from the pan and set aside. In the same skillet, add a little more olive oil and cook the chicken (seasoned with a little salt and pepper) until browned and cooked through. Transfer this into the bowl containing the pancetta. Set this aside.
- Add a little more olive oil. Saute diced onion for a minute, then add minced garlic. Cook this for 30 seconds before adding the mushrooms. Stir to mix, add chicken stock (or water) and cook this for 2-3 minutes, or until the mushrooms have wilted. Scrape the bottom of the pan to release the brown bits. These are full of flavor!
- Add asparagus. Season with salt and pepper and saute about 2 minutes – I like my vegetables crunchy so I do not cook them for long. Remove from the heat.
- Cook the pasta according to the manufacturer’s instructions in a pot of salted boiling water. While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce by whisking together egg yolks, cream, half the Parmesan and lots of freshly ground black pepper.
- Once the pasta is cooked, add the pasta to the sauce. The heat from the pasta will “cook” the egg yolks. Toss to coat the pasta.
- Add the remaining Parmesan and toss again to mix.
- Serve the pasta immediately, topped with the other ingredients.
Hi Diana,
Your carbonara looks yum! … especially with this combination of chicken, pancetta, mushrooms and asparagus.
Funny that you said that yolks + cream is not something I would feed anyone everyday… How nice if we can enjoy anything with yolks + cream without worrying anything… If this happens, I will feed everyone with yolks + cream everyday… LOL!
Zoe
Thanks Zoe. Actually, me too! LOL.
What a lovely looking dish! So moist and I’m sure it was packed full of flavour with the tasty pancetta. Love the fact that you added asparagus
Thank you so much! I loved this dish – especially the pancetta and the asparagus!!
Plan to make this tomorrow! Looks Delish!