For some reason, I didn't expect much from Recipe-Swap Onion "Carbonara." To start with, steamed onions? Ew. Spaghetti alla Carbonara is one of the meals that I can always get Charlie to eat, and it's one of our standby restaurant orders for him. As such, I've tasted some excellent carbonaras, and a lot of mediocre/terrible versions. The worst are soupy and bland. Okay, that's not totally true. The VERY worst actually had curds stuck to the pasta. Cooked egg? Bad cream? I don't know. Gross. Charlie ate it anyway. I envisioned Dorie's version to be on the soupy/bland side. I was wrong.
I ripped up a rotisserie chicken and threw it into the pan with a pound of steamed onions, to make it a one-pot meal. I also transferred a bit of bacon grease over from the pan I'd cooked the bacon in, because bacon flavor is more than half of the appeal of carbonara. Am I right? Of course I am. I did need to add a little extra cream, because the chicken bulked things up farther than the sauce would spread. I used Italian panna da cucina. They have different kinds of cream here. I never know what I'm buying. This stuff is practically solid. It's awesome. It helped reduce the soupy factor.
.JPG)
This was a delicious meal. No pasta necessary.
Conclusion: Loved it.
I was surprised at this one as well (I didn't have any, but my fussy man really liked it).
ReplyDeleteI don't think you missed too much with the soup :-)
So glad this was a hit...Dorie sometimes surprises us, doesn't she??? Enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDeleteLooks good. I enjoyed this too!
ReplyDeleteOn my list to make up as well. When I look at it I keep passing it by not expecting much from it but your post will have me reconsider the next time I am in make up mode.
ReplyDeleteWe really loved this one when we made it. Totally surprised us. Have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed this one - I was pleasantly surprised by it too, as "steamed onions" do not conjure up visions of deliciousness.
ReplyDeleteI found this really interesting. I never thought of onions as a pasta substitute but it works.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Charlie that Pasta Carbonara rocks. I love your idea to add chicken to make this a meal. I'll try that some time. I remember this one being surprisingly good.
ReplyDeleteI remember liking this one. Glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteI loved, loved, loved this recipe and was, like you, totally surprise. Although I must have been channeling Charlie when I made it (love that little guy with his antics) because I did plop Dorie's faux recipe on top of pasta. Ohhhh, it was good. When Charlie is needing a fix, try it. Tell him that right now one of your Mommy's friends, who is in California, is headed out to a cliff on the Pacific Ocean beach to watch the Mama Gray whales migrate with their babies back up to the Bering Sea.
ReplyDeleteThis one was a hit for us, too - loved that it's naturally gluten-free and the onions are truly fantastic. We enjoyed the soup, but subbed quinoa for the barley - that made it a complete meal.
ReplyDelete