Recipe: All-American Pasta Carbonara with Corn, Bacon, and Jalapeño

All-American Carbonara
with Corn, Bacon, and Jalapeño

4 to 6 servings

Traditional pasta carbonara, named for the coal miners who popularized it, is always made with bacon (or a reasonable Italian version thereof). In my star-spangled version, I've added corn and jalapeño, and they go beautifully with the smoky pork.

1 jalapeño
5 bacon slices
2 cups fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 pound fettuccine
3 large eggs
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Chopped fresh cilantro, for serving

Prep

Cut out and discard seeds and ribs from jalapeño; finely chop jalapeño.

1. Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Leaving fat in skillet, transfer bacon to paper towels to cool and drain. Return skillet to heat. Add corn and jalapeño and cook, stirring occasionally, until corn begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in cream and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and keep warm.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add fettuccine and cook until barely tender, about 8 minutes. Drain well and return to pot.

3. Coarsely chop bacon. Beat eggs in small bowl. Gradually whisk into warm cream mixture. Pour over fettuccine in pot, then add Parmesan cheese and reserved bacon. Mix well. Season carefully with salt (it could already be salty enough from bacon and cheese) and a generous grinding of pepper. Serve hot, sprinkled with cilantro.

Variation

Add 2 finely chopped garlic cloves to the skillet during the last minute or so of cooking the corn.

Buy the Book!

from:
The Simpler the Better
Sensational One-Dish Meals
by Leslie Revsin with Rick Rodgers
John Wiley & Sons
$17.95; Hardcover, 239 pages
ISBN: 0-471-48233-1
Recipe reprinted by permission.