Creamy Angel Hair Carbonara with Chicken
Now I do not usually do step-by-step photos of my cooking, and don’t expect this to be a regular thing, because it is very time consuming. I read some blogs that practically, every post has step-by-step photos, and they post almost daily. Some of these bloggers have children and they still do step-by-step photos. (Pioneer Woman, Kayotic Kitchen, The Kichenista and Noble Pig to name a few) I have to give them props, serious kudos, because it is just me, Hubby and 3 dogs and I cannot imagine doing this more then once a week. However for this post I thought I give it a go. Although my photos are not quite up to par with theirs yet, this is my homage to those fabulous foodie bloggers that take the extra step and effort to give us visual step-by-step directions on how to make their fabulous dishes.
This dish turned out great and I managed not to burn anything while I ran between the stove and the camera, while dodging doggies that insist on hanging out in the kitchen. Although the dogs do come in handy when I drop something on the floor, helps with the clean up process. 😀
This was creamy and delicious, a perfect family dish.
Creamy Angel Hair Carbonara with Chicken (Adapted from Food&Wine.com)
Ingredients
The Cast & Crew
- 1 large chicken breast, diced
- 1 pound Angel Hair (abt 1/4 of a box)
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 ounces thickly sliced bacon, cut into 1/8-inch dice
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 cup of baby spinach, corsley chopped
- 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (3 ounces), plus more for serving
- Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- Freshly ground pepper
Directions
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the spaghetti until just al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.
Boil Pasta
Meanwhile, separate eggs into a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks and cream.
Mix egg yolks & cream, set aside
In a large, deep skillet, heat the oil. Add the bacon and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until crisp, 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until golden, 1 minute.
Take bacon and cook in hot skillet, add garlic
Add spinach cook till wilted
Add chopped spinach to skillet
Add chicken and cook, 5 minutes.
Add chopped chicken to skillet
Add the spaghetti to the skillet. Cook over low heat, tossing, until coated. Slowly add the reserved pasta cooking water, beaten egg yolks and sun-dried tomatoes. Toss until coated with a creamy sauce, about 1 minute.
Add, spagetti, sun-dried tomatoes, egg mixture & pasta water
Add the 1 cup of Parmesan and the nutmeg; season with pepper. Transfer to bowls and serve, passing extra Parmesan.
Add, nutmeg, pepper & cheese. Toss and evenly cover pasta with sauce.
Serve hot! Enjoy!
Yummy!
The Aftermath
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Thanks for giving me a tasty use for the two egg yolks I have left over from a lowfat banana bread recipe. My Son loves both of these comfort foods. I call it manly pasta because carbonara is mouthful and it’s got everything he loves. Thanks for providing a great recipe for the supper before school starts!
Looks so yummy! Would love to make this.
About how many people would you say this serves.?
So can you freeze it?? I have way too much left over and but what about the Cream??
I have never tried freezing this pasta. If you do freeze it I recommend defrosting it and slowly heating it up so not to break the sauce.
Literally just finished eating this!!! AMAZING! It was much easier to make than I expected, just make sure you have everything ready to go. Thanks for sharing.
I made this and everyone enjoyed it but i did season the chicken up with cayan and doubled the size….thank you!
What happened to the onion?
Maybe it gets sauteed with the bacon.?
This looks absolutely yummy. I’m going to try it this week. And you did a great job on your pics and directions! I’m afraid I get doing stuff and forget to take pics so there’s always a gap or two. I’m with you…I don’t know how those fabulous bloggers do it. 🙂
I just made this recipe again for the 3rd or 4th time, because it is so yummy. But this time I used Kale from my garden! I spent an hour after dinner saving another dozen or so of your recipes to my favorites to try. Thank you for an awesome blog with such fantastic recipes!!
Hahahaha… Yer HILARIOUS! I have a boyfriend (Darrin) and 2 basset hounds (Beauregard an’ Clementine) that are always under my feet in the kitchen. I also find that none of the lids are replaced when I’m finished. You an’ me..? We got a bit in common. Keep up the good werk, lady. I sure do appreciate all the pics along the way. I’ll be on the look out for more recipes from you. (If there ain’t so many pics, I don’t mind either.)
Can this be made without the bacon? Or is there any substitute that can be used instead? 🙂 Because this recipe looks deliiiiiishhh, and I can’t wait to try it for my family!
Could it be possible to have a print link on all the recipes you include in your Saveur.com weekly emails. They’re great, but printing them to make and keep is sometimes almost impossible. Thanks. Best, Tom Dawson, Pacific Palisades, California 90272
I know what I’m fixing for dinner tomorrow. Your photography is great.
I could almost feel the egg whites separating from the yolks.
HI! It’s a beautiful try…I mean it is great…honestly..I like the way you “photo blog” your recipe…just read it now…can’t wait to try it this weekend…hope you do more….you’re really interesting!
oh dear lord, this looks so good o_O
I’ll make it tomorrow, I promise! Thanks a bundle for the recipe : D
*greetings from someone who sees his fried rice as sufficent cooking skills ..but has realized that maybe he needs to “level up”*
This looks absolutely-fricken-amazing! I’m constantly having my hubby’s friends from work/socializing over on Friday or Saturday nights, so after our grilled sirloin night, this WILL be next. Thanks for posting!!!!! Oh, and the pictures are beeeeeeeeyutiful 😀
I made this tonight and it was really good. The only problems I encountered was I did not read too closely on how much angel hair pasta to use. I thought it should be one lb of UNcooked pasta. Needless to say, I didn’t use it all.
I also think it would be handy if you could have your recipe where you could print it without pictures. Kinda like what you see on All Recipes. I don’t have a laptop so I had to keep running from room to room as I cooked it.
Thanks again for planning dinner for my family tonight, Meseidy!!
This made me laugh. 🙂 You know you can freeze that left over pasta.
I have actually been researching how to offer that options, so stay tuned. 🙂
I am glad you guys enjoyed it. 😀
When do you add in the sun dried tomatoes? I think I will make this tonight. But I will either have to omit the spinach on Charlie’s plate or make him pick it out.
I add them when I add the cream mixture & spaghetti. But it doesn’t make a big difference when you add them. You can add them at the very end if you want them to be a little bit chewier.
after viewing your post I realize I need a new camera… haha
This looks and sounds delicious, and as soon as I get this kid out (please, God, soon) I am going to make it. I will not let that guanciale defeat me! I’m in love with the picture of your pasta boiling and look at how you managed to take photos while actually pouring things! I am completely incapable of accomplishing that.
Also, if it helps, my kitchen is always a disaster when I’m done – luckily, since I did the work my husband cleans up my mess. It’s a great arrangement. 😀
I love that picture too, I was very proud of it. Here is a tip on getting a pouring shot, camera timer and tripod are a must. It takes a few shots of practice but you can do it.
I am not quite as lucky, Hubby cleans the kitchen once in awhile.
This is what I want when I go visit 🙂
Can’t tell you how relieved I am to see that other people’s kitchens look trashed after cooking! Whew!!! What a relief!
I’ve always wanted to try carbonara sauce & your tutorial is excellent. Doesn’t look so scary anymore. YOU’RE MY HERO!!!!!
Sweet now I feel ok about digging my cape out of the attic! Glad you enjoyed the post!
This looks so good! I’ve yet to try cabonara, but it seems like such a great comfort food. Yours looks delicious!
Oh this is fabulous! Big congrats, this recipe has been selected as the best of the web and featured under recipes on the Worthington Wire. The link will go live at 9 CST.
Feel free to grab a Featured on Worthington Wire badge.
http://worthingtonwire.com/badges/
Congrats and Yum!
Allison Worthington
http://worthingtonwire.com
This is beautifully done! Great work with the step-by-step photos. I love carbonara (if only it were healthier!), it is so creamy and delicious. This recipe looks fantastic.