ORECCHIETTE CARBONARA WITH PEAS

Orecchiette Carbonara With Peas image

Provided by Amanda Hesser

Time 30m

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 16

Salt
3 ounces apple-wood smoked bacon, thickly sliced and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
4 ounces pancetta, coarsely chopped so you have 1/4-inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
1 1/2 cups peas
2 teaspoons thyme leaves
3 eggs
6 egg yolks
1 3/4 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 pound orecchiette
Freshly ground black pepper
20 small pea shoots (or small spinach leaves)
1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Steps:

Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. In a large sauté pan, place bacon and pancetta in oil over medium-low heat. Cook until bacon is browned and has rendered most of its fat. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of fat, leaving meat in the pan. Scrape in onion and garlic, and sauté until glassy and translucent, then add peas and thyme. Cook for 1 minute, then turn off heat.
In a large mixing bowl, lightly whisk together eggs, egg yolks and cheese.
When water comes to a rolling boil, stir in pasta and cook until tender but still a little chewy in the center (like a piece of gum). Ladle out a cup of cooking water, and reserve. Drain pasta, and pour it into sauté pan with bacon; grind coarse pepper over top. Fold pasta into sauce.
Tip pasta into egg mixture, and fold it all together quickly, so eggs cook and coat pasta with a velvety sauce. Add pea tendrils (or spinach), and fold once more. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding a generous squeeze of lemon juice. Add a little pasta water if it becomes too thick. Spoon into shallow bowls, and sprinkle with parsley.