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You Only Live Once: Chicken Carbonara

February 22, 2012 By Lena

I firmly believe that if you eat well 90% of the time, the other 10%, you can pretty much gorge on indulge in life’s most delicious foods. (I think I heard about 10 million people ’round the world chorus: Mmmm… Bacon.)

Because that’s the key, right? Everything in moderation. Well, I’ve been a veerry good girl and a few nights ago, I decided that I’d like to moderate a bit of Chicken Carbonara. It was one of those nights where the stars aligned and I was presented with exactly the right ingredients for this gastronomic delight.

Left over roast chicken? Check. Fresh basil? Check. Whipping cream? Okay, when do I ever have whipping cream on hand? Except this time I did, because I had planned on making a whipped cream icing (but abandoned my attempt when the recipe called for 2 hours of prep work. No thanks). Bacon? Check. We always have bacon.

So I decided to treat the family to a scrumptious meal with this rich, flavourful comfort food. As always, it was a breeze to make and we didn’t count calories that night :)

Enjoy!

1 teaspoon olive oil
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
4 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Salt, to taste
1/2 pound spaghetti
2 cups coarsely shredded cooked chicken (roughly half a roasted chicken)
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and garlic and saute until it is brown and crisp, about 6-8 minutes. Cool slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk together cream, Parmesan cheese, egg yolks, dried parsley and fresh basil.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until it is just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain.

Add the chicken to the pan with the bacon and stir to combine. Next, add the cooked spaghetti and the cream mixture and toss over medium-low heat until the chicken is heated through and the sauce coats the spaghetti thickly, about 4 minutes (do not boil or you might end up scrambling the eggs). Season the pasta, to taste, with pepper and salt if needed (the bacon will likely add all the salt you need). Transfer the pasta to a wide serving bowl. Serves 4.

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: bacon, chicken, Chicken Carbonara, recipe

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Janice

    February 22, 2012 at 10:09 pm

    OMG — I’m drooling! Seriously — my stomach is growling right now. Still, John wouldn’t let me make this in a million years. Sigh. He’s already whining about my “crazy rich” cooking which is going to give him a “coronary.” Blah. I’m trying to learn how to cook, so can I help it that the food I want to cook happens to have a little bacon or cream or butter? I get so insulted, though, when he REFUSES to eat it, and then eats some nasty, cold leftovers he made 4 days earlier (yes, that happens. A lot!) I got the ixnay on potato bacon soup, the big negatory on quiche lorraine, whining about the sodium content in a chili I made over the weekend, and a huge fit over the cornbread I made to accompany it (because it contained half a cup of butter). My husband is a carborexic, calorie-counting maniac! He’s driving me nuts!!!!

    • Lena

      February 26, 2012 at 6:46 pm

      HAHAHA! OMG Janice I almost peed my pants laughing at this! Not at your culinary skills, which I am sure are fabulous, but at the “he REFUSES to eat it, and then eats some nasty, cold leftovers he made 4 days earlier (yes, that happens. A lot!)” For the record, next time you make potato bacon soup, I’ll be there to eat his share :)

    • Lynne

      March 6, 2012 at 9:58 am

      Janice, Quiche Lorraine… tell him its cheese and onion pie… I use milk instead of cream in it and it works just fine. As for everything else, just tell him’s calorie reduced…. hehe…

  2. Ella Pretty Blog

    February 22, 2012 at 10:25 pm

    Drooling! I’ve just pinned it to my “Recipes to try” board on Pinterest :-)

    • Lena

      February 26, 2012 at 6:46 pm

      Awesome! Do let me know what you think!

  3. Miss Delirium

    February 23, 2012 at 4:48 am

    Oh nooooo WHY did I read this post BEFORE breakfast?!?!
    NOTHING in the world could satisfy my hunger right now, except that heavenly carbonara.. OMG….

    Ok, gotta leave this page quick, but I will for sure try this dish for dinner soon! :) And I will check back when my hunger is under control :)

    Thanks for sharing this, carbonara is one of my favorite dishes… It must be the bacon.. and the cream sauce, and the parmesan….. mMmMMmmmMmmmMMm ;-)

    Have a good day!

    • Lena

      February 26, 2012 at 6:47 pm

      Ha ha ha, so loved reading this comment! And yes, the bacon.. and the cream sauce, and the parmesan… is certainly a delicious combination :)

  4. Michelle

    February 23, 2012 at 7:13 am

    looks fabulous!! will definitely be trying this! Thank you!

    • Lena

      February 26, 2012 at 6:47 pm

      You’re welcome! Enjoy!

  5. Jenny

    February 23, 2012 at 8:52 am

    I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one drooling! Hot damn Lena I am craving this right now! it looks so good!

    • Lena

      February 26, 2012 at 6:47 pm

      Hot damn go make it! LOL

  6. RubyRed67

    February 23, 2012 at 9:04 am

    OMG I am making this! I had no idea Carbonara was this easy to make. I like that you use bacon instead of pancetta too. Otherwise this dish can get expensive lol.

    • Lena

      February 26, 2012 at 6:48 pm

      Carbonara sounds really fancy, indeed, but it really is very straightforward. And yes, pancetta can be expensive – I find bacon really does do the trick!

  7. Sheryl

    February 23, 2012 at 1:18 pm

    Must eat this. MUST EAT THIS.

    I’ve never actually had carbonera, but I’ve been sort of circling around it lately, thinking about making it but not quite committing. I think you just changed that!

    • Lena

      February 26, 2012 at 6:48 pm

      Awesome! And yes, I insist – you MUST EAT THIS! Enjoy :)

  8. Carlee

    February 23, 2012 at 4:30 pm

    Excuse me while I wipe the drool from my chin.

    • Lena

      February 26, 2012 at 6:48 pm

      You’re excused :)

  9. Little Miss Kate

    February 25, 2012 at 10:42 am

    Now that looks amazing – we are having family over for dinner tomorrow night, maybe I should a make this!

    • Lena

      February 26, 2012 at 6:49 pm

      Let me know if you made it Katie! It’s definitely a crowd pleaser!

  10. Karina

    March 4, 2012 at 9:54 am

    You had me at Bacon & Cream :P

    • Lena

      March 4, 2012 at 9:59 am

      :) ENJOY!

  11. Bargainmoose

    March 20, 2012 at 12:39 pm

    This looks AMAZING….Bacon & Whipped cream in the same dish? Twist my arm on that one….I’m excited to throw this into our weekly meal plan as a treat :) Cause really who can turn down a comforting pasta dish with bacon! Thanks for the recipe! -Kate

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Lena Almeida

Toronto Blogger, Social Media Strategist for Listen to Lena Inc. Television & Radio Personality, Columnist and Speaker. Family Travel Expert. Star Wars Fanatic. Perfecting the Art of Conversuasion. Read More…

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