Locally sourced Carbonara pasta with wilted greens

The warming weather of this week promises a wider variety of local foods coming soon, but for those eating S.O.L.E. (Sustainable, Organic, Local, Ethical) foods this winter, its not spring yet.

This week I had bacon, fresh linguine, eggs and braising greens to turn into a delicious dinner. Carbonara is one of the simplest pasta dishes to make and is so satisfying, but you do have to pay attention to a few small details to get it right. I like to make wilted greens to top my Carbonara and make the meal complete with a hearty vegetable.

Although I love the flavor and texture of fresh pasta, interestingly I found that I prefer the way dried spaghetti picks up the egg.

Carbonara with Wilted Greens
Serves 2

Heat a large cast iron pan over medium high heat. Roughly chop a 1/4 pound of bacon and add to the hot pan. Cook until the fat has rendered and the bacon is beginning to crisp.

Meanwhile, heat a large pot of salted water to boiling.

Add some hot water to the serving bowl that you will be using and allow the water to heat the bowl. Pour out the water. Crack two eggs into the warm bowl, whisk together, and allow to sit at room temperature while the rest of dinner is cooking.

Finely grate a 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.

Remove the bacon to a small oven-safe dish and keep warm in a warm oven. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat. Wash 2 large hand fulls of wilted greens (any kinds of kale, chard or beet greens) and then add the greens to the bacon fat in the same pan that you cooked the bacon in. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and a dash of red pepper flakes if you like a bit of heat. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, when the water boils, add 1/2 pound of dried spaghetti and cook according to the package directions. Have a colander ready in the sink.

As soon as the pasta is cooked you will move very quickly to finish the dish. Time is of the essence because the heat from the pasta will cook the egg and you do not want to lose any heat from the hot pasta.

Moving quickly, drain the pasta and add immediately to the bowl of whisked eggs, folding the pasta into the egg a few times. Add the hot bacon and the grated cheese to the pasta, turning again a few times. If everything went well, your pasta will be coated in a slightly creamy sauce with bacon studded throughout. Congrats! Top with the wilted greens.


I used fresh pasta here and added the bacon on top, but I prefer dried pasta


If the egg looks like scrambled egg clinging to the spaghetti, then you probably used too much pasta or you got nervous and added it back to the pan and cooked the egg. It will still taste good anyway, and you can add heavy cream to make it wetter.

If the egg looks raw and runny, then you probably took your time draining the pasta and it wasn't hot enough, or your eggs were too cold. To save it, Heat up the bacon pan again and quickly dump the pasta in, give it a quick stir and take it back out again.

SOLE Notes: Hempler's nitrate-free bacon (WA), Steibrs' organic eggs (WA), fresh Cucina Fresca linguine (WA), organic braising greens (OR), all thanks to Spud.com