Spring Green Spaghetti Carbonara Recipe | Ina Garten

Difficulty: Easy
Makes / Serves: 6 servings
Nutritional Information (per serving):
- Serving Size: 1/6 of recipe
- Calories: 634
- Total Fat: 35g
- Saturated Fat: 14g
- Carbohydrates: 53g
- Dietary Fiber: 5g
- Sugar: 6g
- Protein: 26g
- Cholesterol: 201mg
- Sodium: 625mg
Total Time: 30 minutes
Active Time: 30 minutes

When I was developing a cookbook that would become "Modern Comfort Food," I wanted to create dishes that soothe and delight familiar comfort food updated to feel fresher and lighter. This Spring Green Spaghetti Carbonara captures that idea: it keeps the classic creaminess of carbonara but brightens it with plenty of spring vegetables and lemon for a lively finish.

Traditional carbonara relies on eggs, cheese, and pancetta for its rich flavor, but it can feel heavy. Here I've added crisp snow peas, asparagus, and English peas along with scallions and fresh chives to lighten and freshen the dish. A bit of lemon zest and juice adds the bright note that carbonara sometimes lacks, while the pancetta and freshly grated Parmesan preserve the dish's comforting, savory character.

Ingredients

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 ounces spaghetti (such as De Cecco)
1/2 pound snow peas, cut lengthwise into thin strips
1 cup shelled fresh peas (about 1 pound in pods), or frozen peas
1214 slender asparagus, discard the lower third, slice the tops into 2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons high-quality olive oil
8 ounces pancetta, diced small
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 extra-large eggs
2 extra-large egg yolks
3/4 cup freshly grated Italian Parmesan, plus more for serving
5 scallions, white and green parts, sliced diagonally
1/4 cup minced fresh chives, plus extra for garnish
Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 2 tablespoons of salt. Add the spaghetti and cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water. Then add the snow peas, peas, and asparagus to the pot with the spaghetti and cook 2 more minutes. Drain the pasta and vegetables together.
Meanwhile, in a medium saut pan (1011 inches), heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, 79 minutes, until browned. Transfer the pancetta to a plate lined with paper towels to drain; set aside.
Fill a large mixing bowl with the hottest tap water to warm it while the pancetta cooks (this helps gently temper the eggs). Just before draining the pasta, discard the hot water. In the warmed bowl whisk together the heavy cream, eggs, egg yolks, and 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water.
Immediately add the hot drained spaghetti and vegetables to the bowl, and quickly toss with tongs so the pasta absorbs the sauce. Add more reserved pasta water as needed to keep the sauce silky and fluid.
Stir in the Parmesan, scallions, chives, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper, and toss well. Fold in the pancetta, adjust seasoning, and serve immediately with extra chives and Parmesan if desired.