This is my 100th post here at gourmetdaytoday! To celebrate this small milestone I am bringing you a recipe that really blew us away.
I love carbonara! Love it! I’ve used Nigella Lawson’s recipe for years but I have to tell you carbonara is finicky. Depending on the day the bacon may taste too strong, the eggs may scramble slightly if you don’t work quick enough or sometimes, at least for us, the salt is off. Well no more! I have no plans to make that recipe ever again. Why? This recipe is miles better, has better flavor and really fits the bill for an awesome tasting carbonara.
I found this recipe at Epicurious but have modified it quite a bit. You can find the original recipe here. One of the changes I made was adding asparagus to the pasta and it balanced the dish beautifully. I would definitely recommend adding the asparagus because the crunch was just perfect. This is a keeper in our house.
Enjoy!

Linguine Carbonara with Blue Cheese and Artichokes

1 pound linguine
1/2 lb asparagus- trimmed and cut into thirds (or smaller if you have really long asparagus)

2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 8-ounce packages frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, quartered
1 cup crumbled blue cheese (gorgonzola would work here as well)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs, beaten to blend
8 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. You will need your water ready to add pasta while sauce is being made.

In a large pan or dutch oven, cook cut bacon until crispy. Remove from pan with slotted spoon. Add olive oil to pan with bacon grease and reduce heat to medium low. Add artichokes, then garlic and saute for 5 minutes. While artichokes are cooking, add pasta to pot of boiling salted water. Add 1/2 cup blue cheese, cream, half and half, crushed red pepper, black pepper and salt to the artichoke mixture and simmer until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.
When you have about 3 minutes left of your pasta cooking time, add the asparagus to your pasta water. Finish cooking until pasta is tender but still firm to bite. Drain the linguine and asparagus well, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.

Add hot pasta and asparagus to sauce and toss to coat. Remove from heat. Add eggs to pasta and toss well. Add bacon, 1/2 cup blue cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and basil and toss to incorporate. Add reserved pasta water to thin sauce, if desired. Sprinkle 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese over pasta and serve.