Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Pasta carbonara, or something, with apples and cranberries

Pasta carbonara—pasta tossed with bacon and egg—is a great last-minute meal because it is very tasty and very quick. In less than half an hour you have a full main course, and, of course, the addition of cranberries makes it all the better (well, it makes it different, but it's very good). And it makes it slightly healthier. I was looking around my kitchen for things to make for dinner and saw bacon, pasta and eggs, a granny smith apple and, of course, cranberries, and—twenty-five minutes later—was eating dinner.

Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients for four moderately-sized (multiplies/divides easily):
8 strips bacon (mmm, bacon)
1 pound pasta
2 eggs, beaten
1 apple (I like Granny Smiths)
Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese for grating. Don't buy the powdered or shredded stuff in the plastic container—get a wedge and grate it yourself.

Heat a skillet over medium-low flame, and fry the bacon. Bring a pot of water to boil and add the pasta. Chop the apple in half and cut out the core, then slice each half in to thin slices, and cut these in half. Beat the eggs in a small bowl. When the bacon is crispy, remove it from the pan and any excess grease, and pat it dry with a paper towel. Keep the skillet over medium-low heat and add the apple and cranberries, cook them until they are soft.

In the mean time, chop the bacon in to small pieces, and add them back to the skillet; stir it in with the fruit. Drain the pasta, and add it to the skillet (if your skillet isn't big enough, throw the pasta and skillet contents in to a large bowl). Stir the pasta and skillet contents together, and put it in a large mixing bowl. Immediately add the egg, and stir quickly to coat (they eggs shouldn't scramble).

Top with shredded cheese.

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