New Orleans Carbonara
Here’s a great way to use tasso ham; especially if you happened to have made too much of it. We’re going to bring some Louisiana flavor into the carbonara world. Italian carbonara is just sautéed pancetta tossed with pasta, eggs, and parmesan. For this recipe, I replaced pancetta with tasso ham. You can also add chicken, shrimp, or crawfish to the pasta to have another protein. As far as pasta, you can use really any shape that you want. I had a box of penne regatta in the cupboard, so that’s what I used. The best part of this dish is that once you’ve boiled your pasta al dente, the carbonara is ready in 10 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb tasso ham diced
- 1 small onion chopped
- 6 garlic cloves sliced
- 1 lb pasta cooked according to package directions
- 1/2 cup pasta water
- 3 large eggs beaten
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated
- salt to taste
Garnish
- parsley chopped
Instructions
- Heat up olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the tasso ham for 5 minutes to tender out the fat.
- Add in the onions and garlic. Sauté for 3 minutes.
- Stir in the pasta with the tasso ham. Pour in a 1/2 cup of pasta water. Sauté for 1 minute.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in the eggs and parmesan cheese, making sure that the pasta is evenly coated. Season with salt to taste. Garnish with parsley.
