BLT-STYLE CARBONARA PASTA

BLT-Style Carbonara Pasta image

Provided by @MakeItYours

Number Of Ingredients 1

1 large, ripe heirloom tomato or 4 plum or Roma tomatoes, 1 pound egg tagliatelle, such as Del Verde brand or other wide, long-cut pasta, Salt, 2 tablespoons EVOO Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1/3 pound lean, good quality bacon, smoky speck or milder pancetta,

Steps:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil
Score an X into tomato skin, place in boiling water to a count of 30, then remove to a bowl of ice water with tongs or spider
Peel, seed and chop tomato and reserve
Salt boiling water and cook pasta to al dente
Heads up: you will need some starchy cooking water to temper the egg yolks, so reserve a cup or so before draining pasta
Meanwhile, heat a pan over medium to medium-high heat with EVOO
Add bacon, speck or pancetta, and cook until almost crisp
Add leeks, garlic and chili, stir a couple of minutes then add wine and reduce by half
Add parsley and tomatoes, and reduce heat to low
When pasta is about ready, add about 1/2 cup starchy water to the eggs while beating them with a fork to temper them
Toss pasta with bacon and eggs, turn off heat, then toss vigorously a full minute, using more starchy water if the pasta tightens up (the yolks should cover pasta smoothly)
Serve with Pecorino at the table for passing