I know carbonara is supposed to be made with spaghetti, but I was just dying to use my cellentani … I have to admit … I bought this pasta because I thought they were beautiful. I mean look at those wild swirls! And I loved the name. Cellantani. Isn’t that a romantic name? It makes me dream of wild, romantic nights in Italia. I wanted these gorgeous corkscrew pasta shapes on my table, and imagined what I might pair them with.
Asparagus Cellantani Carbonara
Adapted from the Foodie Physician.
Makes about 2 servings.
- 1 cup dry cellantani pasta
- 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh asparagus
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic + the garlic scapes, snipped
- 1/2 cup chopped cooked lean ham (or canadian bacon, something salty like bacon, but leaner)
- 1/2 of a medium tomato
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan + a little extra to sprinkle on top
- Fresh basil & oregano leaves
- Freshly ground pepper & sea salt
Directions:
- Bring a pot of water to boil. While the water is heating, wash the asparagus and set it on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle with Red Robin (or Red Magic) seasoning … or your favorite seasoning mix … and spray with cooking spray. Roast the asparagus in a 400 degree oven for about 8 minutes or until crisp tender. Tend to the other things, but when the asparagus is done, take it out of the oven and set it aside.
- When the water is boiling, add the pasta to cook.
- Now, while they are cooking, peel and chop the garlic, then chop the tomato and ham.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg with 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese.
- When the pasta is nearly done, skim off 1/4 cup of the hot pasta water. Add about a tablespoon of the hot water to the egg mixture and whisk.
- Strain the hot cooked pasta in a colander.
- Take the hot pan you cooked the pasta in and over medium high heat, add the oil, chopped garlic, and ham and sautee for just a couple minutes, then add the tomato and asparagus and sautee briefly to cook out the juices from the tomato. Add the hot cooked pasta and the egg/cheese mixture. Remove from heat and stir. The egg should finish cooking from the heat of the pasta and make a nice light creamy sauce. If the sauce needs more liquid, add a little of the hot pasta water you saved.
- Sprinkle with herbs, more parmesan and the reserved garlic scapes, season with salt & freshly ground pepper, and serve immediately.
This recipe was shared at Totally Tasty Tuesdays, Full Plate Thursdays, Tastetastic Thursdays and Fit & Fabulous Fridays.
16 comments
LOVE this Ann!! Pretty pictures too 🙂
Thank you Lauren 🙂
Ann, this looks fantastic! Thanks for the mention, I’m honored 🙂
Thanks for the recipe! I am so glad to know you 🙂
I had never seen – or heard of – cellantani until today! And yes! What a beautiful, romantic name to go with beautiful pasta 🙂 You have definitely taken carbonara to an entirely new level… brava! xoxo
I hadn’t heard the word before, but I’d seen the pasta … and when I saw it at the store, I just couldn’t resist! Thank you once again, Michele. You are so sweet.
So beautiful and fresh looking!
Thanks, Crunchy! That means a lot to me, coming from you. Your food is always so beautiful.
This does look delicious and I love the corkscrew shape. And asparagus is so good and plentiful now. I have to admit I would be tempted to use Prosciutto, but that’s just me. I always rationalize it by thinking nothing carved so thin can have too much fat!!!
I think prosciutto would be fabulous … I just happen to still have a lot of ham to use so ham it was for me. If you try it with prosciutto, let me know how you like it!
I would love a plate of this. When is dinner?
Funny, I have Sonali’s recipe on the menu for Saturday night. Already put all of the items I need on the grocery list for tomorrow. Sounds amazing! And I love your pasta. I’m going to have to go with whatever gluten-free pasta shapes I can find.
You are so good at planning ahead! I just make things up willy nilly as I go along. Sonali’s recipe is wonderful btw. You’re gonna love it 🙂
Well, I try to get all of my grocery shopping on one of the two mornings my little guy goes to school, so I try to plan at least a few days ahead. Otherwise I’d be at the store everyday!
My hubby and I adore asparagus, and try to find new ways to enjoy it! This looks gorgeous:-) Hugs, Terra
Yay I’m so glad you like it. I was just entranced with the curly pasta … it’s the little things in life, right?