• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Blog
    • Food
      • Appetizers
      • Breads
      • Breakfast
      • Dairy Free
      • Drinks
      • Healthy
      • Homemade
      • Main Dishes
      • Pastas
      • Salads
      • Side Dishes
      • Snacks
      • Soups & Stews
      • Sweets
      • Vegetables
    • Obsessing On
      • Series Posts
        • Blogging Roundup
        • Crushing On…
        • Cookbook Love
        • Blog Crushes
        • Favorite Finds
        • Let’s Travel
      • Share Fest
        • Beauty & DIY
        • Blogging
        • My Kitchen
        • Every Day Things
        • Techy Stuff
  • Recipe Index
  • About
    • About CCWT
    • FAQs
    • Contact
  • Work With Me
  • Shop
    • Blogging Resources
    • Cookbooks
    • Cool Stuff
    • Kitchen Appliances
    • Kitchen Tools
  • Privacy

Can Cook, Will Travel

You are here: Home / Recipes / Main Dishes / Spaghetti Carbonara with Leeks and Pancetta

December 2, 2012 By Kelli Wallace Leave a Comment

Spaghetti Carbonara with Leeks and Pancetta


(Recipe can be found at Cooking Light’s site here.)

Step by Step Instructions:

You don’t need much to throw this delicious pasta dish together: 2 medium-sized Leeks, uncooked Spaghetti, Salt, Pepper, 2 Eggs (1 whole egg, 1 egg white), chopped Parsley, 1/2 cup of grated Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese, 2-3 ounces of diced Pancetta, Minced Garlic. *Please ignore the above Olive Oil. I must have had another recipe in mind when I set this aside. πŸ™‚


I began by putting a large pot of water on the stove to boil. While the water boiled, I prepped my leeks. I began by slicing each leek lengthwise and cut off the white root end as you see above.


Then I sliced the leeks very thinly and stopped as I got near the green part of the leek. The green sections is very tough, so you don’t want to eat it.


Then I placed the sliced leeks in a large bowl about 3/4 full of water and used my fingers to shake up the leeks a bit to help the dirt sediments to separate from the leeks. The idea is that the dirty sediments sink to the bottom and the clean leeks float at the top. Let them soak for a couple of minutes.


Once the leeks are dirt-free, I carefully scooped the floating leeks and piled them on a plate lined with paper towels to help them dry a bit. Then they get set aside until I need them.


About this time, the water was boiling and the pasta gets added and cooked according to the package’s directions.


While the pasta cooks, it’s time to put the sauce together…I love multitasking! Makes me feel so darned efficient! Anyhoo, in a small bowl, add 1 egg plus 1 egg white, along with the 1/2 cup of grated Parmiggiano Reggiano, along with 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper and 1/8 teaspoon of salt.


Then whisk the ingredients together.


Before I drained the pasta, I reserved 1/4 cup of the pasta water.


Then I slowly poured that pasta water into the small bowl and whisked constantly. The idea is to temper the eggs so that they do not scramble on you. So pour that water very slowly and whisk, whisk, whisk.


Now it’s time to really cook. In a large pan over medium-high heat (about 6 on my stove), I added the diced pancetta to the hot pan. If you can’t find pancetta, I’m sure bacon would be equally delicious. You just get more of a bite with the pancetta…yum!


Then cook the pancetta for a few minutes until they are nice and crispy. Once the pancetta is crispy you can carefully remove the pancetta from the pan and place them on a plate. Keep as much of the drippings in the pan because that’s what the dish gets cooked in.


Now once the pancetta is set aside, add the pancetta and stir it for about 4 minutes until they are starting to soften.


Then add 2 minced garlic cloves and saute another minute. I used the jarred minced garlic just because it saves me time, but by all means mince your own garlic if you’d like.


Finally lower the heat to low, and add the cooked pasta, the pancetta, and the sauce to the pan and stir it up until it’s well combined. Seriously your kitchen will smell amazing!


Then serve up the pasta immediately and top with some freshly chopped parsley and dig in. Warning: You may go back for seconds or thirds, but don’t worry, the leftovers are really good, too! So freaking good!

Ingredients:
8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
1/2 cup (2 ounces) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1/2 cup chopped pancetta (about 2 ounces)
2 cups thinly sliced leek (about 2 large)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preparation Instructions:
1. Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid.

2. Combine cheese, pepper, salt, egg, and egg white in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add the reserved 1/4 cup cooking liquid to egg mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk.

3. Cook pancetta in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove pancetta from pan, reserving drippings in pan; set pancetta aside. Add leek to drippings in pan, and sautΓ© 4 minutes. Add garlic to pan; sautΓ© for 1 minute. Add pasta, cheese mixture, and pancetta to pan; reduce heat, and cook 1 minute, tossing well to coat. Cook 1 minute. Sprinkle with parsley; serve immediately.

0

Subscribe To My Newsletter!

Ready to get weekly recipes, cooking tips, and more delivered straight to your inbox? Perfect! Sign up here and you're in.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Filed Under: Main Dishes Tagged With: Leeks, Pancetta, Pasta

Previous Post: « Light and Easy Carbonara
Next Post: Scones Galore – Round Two: Cranberry Scones »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome

Hi and welcome! I'm Kelli, a Midwestern girl at heart who loves to cook and travel (of course). This blog chronicles my journey to rediscover my passions and share them with all of you. From cooking & baking to travel & inspiration, I have tons of interests that I can't wait to share with you! Learn More…

Let’s Connect

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Subscribe

Welcome to Can Cook, Will Travel!

Never miss another delicious recipe again!

Get weekly newsletters in your inbox with new recipes, features &Β more! PlusΒ subscribe now forΒ my must-have kitchen tools guide!

You have Successfully Subscribed!




Take my survey, Pretty Please!

Survey Says_Small




Archives

Bloglovin

Footer

Stay Connected

  • Bloglovin
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr

Instagram

  • Happy Valentine's Day, my friends! Today is a day to celebrate all of the beautiful relationships in your life. I'll admit I do think this day is a bit of a commercial one, because we ought to show our love for each other every day. But I'll happily do it today too!
β™₯️
I'm so grateful for each of you in my life even if it's just through our phones most days. β™₯️
I'm also supremely blessed for my amazing friends and family each day. To say they make my life better every day is an understatement. β™₯️
Thanks to those of you who I can confide in at a moments notice. I'm honestly am a better person having you in my life. β™₯️
And to my newest valentine, my puppy, I'm excited to see where this little adventure of ours is going. β™₯️
Now I'm off to enjoy a night in with my guy cooking, laughing and relaxing on this chilly evening.
β™₯️
What are your big plans tonight? Netflix and chill, going somewhere fancy or hanging with your friends and family?
β™₯️β™₯️β™₯️β™₯️β™₯️β™₯️β™₯️β™₯️β™₯️
β€’
β€’
β€’
β€’
β€’
#flashesofdelight #thehappynow #pursuepretty #livethelittlethings #darlingmovement #livecolorfully #petitejoys #darlingweekend #goodvibes #abmlifeisbeautiful #joyintheordinary #huffpostlifestyle #ohwowyes #desiremap #blogginglife #cancookwilltravel #ccwtiving #valentinesday2019 #gratefulheart #loveeveryday
  • Here's a recent purchase of mine...a little humidifier for my apartment. My hands are crazy dry, my nostrils and lips are dry. I'm so over winter already so I've kept this going nonstop. So far I think it's helped me and my puppy a bit. What are your winter must haves? And also if you have any really great lotion recommendations for majorly dry skin that doesn't leave your hands super oily, comment with that too! So far Aquaphor is my go to but my hands feel so greasy. πŸ’–πŸ’–πŸ’–πŸ’–πŸ’–πŸ’–πŸ’–πŸ’–πŸ’–
β€’
β€’
β€’
β€’
β€’
#flashesofdelight #thehappynow #pursuepretty #livethelittlethings #darlingmovement #livecolorfully #petitejoys #darlingweekend #goodvibes #abmlifeisbeautiful #joyintheordinary #huffpostlifestyle #ohwowyes #desiremap #blogginglife #cancookwilltravel #ccwtiving #wintermusthave #humidifier
  • Don't let that smile fool you...I'm tired as can be as I'm working through my first week of puppy mommyhood as my friend Lea calls it. My productivity for anything outside of little Brinkley and work has been nonexistent. There have been a lot of ups and downs this week so I'm sharing that journey...
🐾
First off I have a horrible gag reflex so I'm grateful my boyfriend doesn't. But I've actually done quite well with the cleanup. Yay!
🐾
Maybe I should have checked the weather before adopting cuz it's been in the negative degrees. Brrrrr
🐾
The crate and treats have been amazing for my sanity and training the little guy. 🐾
I've already called the vet with a health issue. I'm working on getting good at getting him to take pills. No fun. 🐾
A puppy makes for a great foot warmer which I'm always on need of!
🐾
My patience is being tested but it's definitely a learning process. I'm getting better every day!
🐾
He actually is a fab napper and evenings are my favorite after he gets his crazy playing out of his system. We recoop from the day together with our laziness. 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍
  • I'd like to introduce this little guy to you. We adopted him yesterday and he's the sweetest puppy and quite the charmer! Right now I'm thinking Brinkley will be his name. Any You've Got Mail fans out there??
😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍
β€’
β€’
β€’
β€’
β€’
#flashesofdelight #thehappynow #pursuepretty #livethelittlethings #darlingmovement #livecolorfully #petitejoys #darlingweekend #goodvibes #abmlifeisbeautiful #joyintheordinary #huffpostlifestyle #cancookwilltravel #ccwtiving #rescuedog #rescuepuppy #shepherdmix
  • Every time I fly I feel like I have a few moments of major depth. Where I see the world and myself from a different angle (literally). And I think it's normal for a lot of us to question who we are, our purpose, why we're here, our level of happiness, and so on. Well today's analysis revealed that I think we're here to grow, serve others, and spread love. It looks different for each of us, because we're all unique little weirdos in our own ways. Our contributions will all be slightly different. To be honest, I could be better. Better in all of these areas. But is the fact that I'm recognizing this proof I'm growing? I'd like to think so. What about you? What do you think about when you fly? Maybe you get a little deep on a flight or just admire the view. Tell me below! I'd β™₯️to know!
⛅️⛅️⛅️⛅️⛅️⛅️⛅️⛅️⛅️⛅️
β€’
β€’
β€’
β€’
β€’
#flashesofdelight #thehappynow #pursuepretty #livethelittlethings #darlingmovement #livecolorfully #petitejoys #darlingweekend #goodvibes #abmlifeisbeautiful #joyintheordinary #huffpostlifestyle #ohwowyes #desiremap #blogginglife #cancookwilltravel #ccwtiving #skymusings #bigthoughts #whyarewehere #findyourpurpose

CanCookWillTravel.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. All thoughts and opinions are 100% our own.

Copyright © 2011–2019 Can Cook, Will Travel | All Rights Reserved