Poor Man’s Pasta Carbonara

Course: main meals
PointsPlus™ Value:  7
Servings:  2

Preparation Time:  15 min
Cooking Time:  15 min
Level of Difficulty:  Easy

 This is a great meal to start off the day, with 7 power food ingredients. Always eat your carbs early in the day.  For only 2 points more add 1 more ounce of noodles.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp parsley, chopped  
• 1/4 cup(s) green pepper(s), diced  
• 1/4 lb mushroom(s), sliced  or diced
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes  
• 2 clove(s) garlic clove(s), minced (medium)  
• 1 shallot, finely chopped  
• 1 tsp rosemary, finely chopped  
• 2 tsp Filippo Berio Extra virgin olive oil  
• 3/4 cup(s) fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth  
• 2 item(s) egg  
• 2 oz uncooked whole-wheat spaghetti  
• 1 tsp black pepper, cracked  
• 2 tsp shredded parmesan cheese  
• 1 slice(s) uncooked reduced-fat bacon  
• 1 tsp fresh oregano  
• 4 leaf/leaves basil  
• 1/4 cup(s) frozen green peas
• Salt

Preparation:

Cook pasta according to directions, al dente. In the meantime set up a small soup pan for poaching. Bring water to the point of slow boiling (barely bubbling). Add a little salt and white vinegar to the water. Once the pasta is done, drain (setting aside 1/2 cup of pasta water) and cool, set aside for later. Microwave or cook bacon to a crisp, crumble or chop and set it aside for topping.

In 1 tsp of olive oil, sauté all the vegetables, leaving the garlic for last. After a few minutes, add the peas, green and red peppers, pepper flakes and cook for a minute or two. Add stock, ¼ cup of pasta water and the cooked spaghetti mixing well, reduce by half. Then lower the heat and add rosemary, basil and oregano and simmer. We’re almost done… Now toss the pasta with the mixture to coat the noodles. Turn off heat and mix in parmesan cheese.  There should be some liquid left in the pan, if not add a little pasta water.

To poach the egg: Swirl the water in your poaching pot in a clock ward motion, carefully crack your egg into the poaching liquid while slowly rotating the water around it. Poach for about 4 minutes or until the egg whites are firm.

It’s time to plate the pasta. Pour the remaining sauce evenly over equal servings of noodles. Remove the egg with a slotted spoon (drain) and lay it on top of the pasta. Drizzle, ½ tsp of olive oil over the top of each serving and garnish with chopped parsley and crumbled bacon. Add salt if you want, however, it’s probably not necessary.  Crack pepper over the egg. The sauce will thicken when you break the egg yolk and mix it into pasta.