TINY Kitchen Carbonara Lite
Hello, hello - or buonasera, as we are saying here in Italy!
I am so fortunate to be away enjoying some time with my husband, visiting our dear friends who live in Italy. Just this weekend, we got to experience the world-famous Carnival of Venice, and we're gearing up for a week where we'll visit Vicenza, Verona, Lake Garda and Milan; taking in the most amazing scenery, food and people in the world.
While nothing can quite compare to the delectable pastas we've been enjoying here, this week we've got a healthy take on a classic pasta dish for you. This recipe keeps the best parts of Carbonara and ditches some of the extra calories so you can enjoy a delicious pasta dish with a little less guilt. I hope you love it as much as I do.
We'll be back next week with a fun TINY Kitchen Kids recipe for Valentine's Day teacher gifts!
Ciao!
xo
Tessa
INGREDIENTS
6oz dry Spaghetti or Fettuccine 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved 4 strips uncured applewood smoked bacon, chopped into small pieces
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup low-fat milk or regular almond milk 2tbs fresh basil 2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
DIRECTIONS
Let's start with cooking our bacon: place cut up bacon into a large cold skillet and cook over medium heat until nice and crispy
Using a slotted spatula, carefully transfer cooked bacon from pan on to paper towels to drain
Empty grease, reserving about 1 tbs of the drippings inside the pan
Next, cook pasta according to directions, reserving about 1 cup pasta water before draining
Drain the pasta - but don't sweat having to shake it dry, it'll need a little moisture for this next step
Place pasta into the skillet you used to cook the bacon, which should contain about 1 tbs of the bacon drippings. Turn heat to medium-high
Carefully pour 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup pasta water into the skillet
Add 1/2 cup parmesan to the skillet pasta mixture and mix everything together thoroughly
Add the remaining milk and parmesan cheese, and stir to combine all ingredients. A lovely sauce should begin to thicken (if it gets too thick, add some more water by the tablespoon)
Add tomatoes and basil, stir gently to incorporate
Using tongs, carefully remove pasta to plate
Sprinkle each serving with fresh cracked black pepper and additional parm if you like!
Serves 4
