Bacon-Tomato Linguine Carbonara

I found this bacon-tomato linguine carbonara recipe in the newest Food Network magazine and I couldn’t resist making it. A bowl full of pasta with bacon, homegrown tomatoes, and freshly grated parmesan cheese? Yes, please!  I received a bowl full of homegrown tomatoes from a friend’s garden recently and knew they would be amazing in this recipe. I was right – they were the star of the show. I adapted the recipe to include some baby spinach and arugula instead of basil because that’s what I had on hand and didn’t want to run to the grocery store.

Bacon-Tomato Linguine Carbonara

Ingredients:

• 12 oz linguine cooked in salted water, per package instructions
• 6 slices of bacon, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan, more for serving
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 3 cups of mixed cherry tomatoes
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 2 cups baby spinach & baby arugula mix

How to Make Bacon-Tomato Linguine Carbonara

Cook the linguine in salted water, per instructions. Drain pasta. Reserve 1¼ cups of the cooking water.

While the pasta is cooking, cook the bacon pieces in a large skillet over medium heat until golden brown and crisp. Remove the bacon crumbles from the pan with a slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel; set aside.

While the bacon is cooking, combine the beaten eggs with the Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste in a small bowl; mix well. Set aside. Slowly whisk in 1 cup of the cooking water; set aside.

Remove all but 2 tablespoons of bacon grease from the skillet then add the shallot and tomatoes. Cook, stirring often for 3 minutes.

Add the crushed red pepper flakes and minced garlic then cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

Reduce heat to medium-low; add the drained & cooked linguine and toss well. Slowly add the egg mixture; tossing to make a creamy sauce, about 1 minute.

Add the bacon crumbles, baby spinach, and arugula then season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste.

Add more reserved cooking water to loosen pasta, if needed. Serve topped with freshly grated parmesan. Enjoy.