More Than Our Story

Quick Carbonara

Our lighter, healthier, and spicy Mexican-infused twist on a classic carbonara.

Total Time: ~20 Minutes

Servings: 4-6

Animal Protein

Table of Contents

Inspiration

This lighter, healthier Mexican-infused carbonara recipe came together in an Airbnb kitchen the night before a race, using food we brought in a cooler, and it turned out fantastic. Not only was it tasty, but omitting a creamy sauce or egg let the spicy pico de gallo bring a cleaner, brighter flavor for a new twist on a classic.

Ingredients

Pasta

  • 500g dried pasta (we used pappardelle in the picture)
  • ¼ – ½ cup light margarine
  • Salt

Toppings

  • 1kg peameal bacon, sliced thin
  • 1-2 heads of garlic, peeled, minced (we brought pre-peeled, and diced garlic to save time)
  • 1 white onion, peeled, diced
  • 4-6 handfuls of raw, roughly chopped, washed spinach
  • 2 cups spicy pico de gallo, saving some for garnishing (we brought pre-made pico de gallo, but it’s also amazing with our Chilean Pebre recipe below)

Garnishes

  • Freshly cracked black pepper
  • Grated parmesan to preference (we used the original Kraft shaker variety)
  • Optional 🔥🔥🔥: Chili flakes (if you’re looking for more kick than the pico de gallo provides)

PEAMEAL BACON:
Also known as Canadian bacon, peameal bacon is a cut of unsmoked bacon made from center-cut pork loin, trimmed of fat, wet-cured in a salt-and-sugar brine, and rolled in cornmeal. It can be sliced and cooked on a grill, a griddle, or fried. If you have trouble finding peameal, you can easily substitute it with extra-lean turkey or ham kolbassa for a similar taste and health profile.

CHILEAN PEBRE RECIPE:
Like a South American salsa, this condiment of tomato, chilies, onion, cilantro, garlic, oil, and vinegar pairs well with everything!
View Recipe >>

Preparations

Prepare the Pasta

  1. In a large pot, heat salted water for your pasta.
  2. Add the pasta, and while it cooks, start the toppings.
  3. When the pasta is ready, strain it, then add it back to the pot along with the margarine and mix.

Prepare the Toppings

  1. While the pasta is cooking, cook the peameal in a frying pan, set aside, trim excess fat, and cut into strips.
  2. Add the onions and garlic to the frying pan and sauté until translucent.
  3. Add the spinach and the trimmed peameal, and mix until the spinach wilts.

Combine and Serve

  1. Add toppings to pasta, along with the pico de gallo.
  2. Fold the ingredients to combine.
  3. Serve immediately, topped with parmesan, freshly cracked black pepper, and chili flakes to taste.

Tips

  • Can’t find peameal bacon? No problem – substitute it for extra lean turkey or ham Kolbassa.
  • You can use oil if you like; we were trying to keep the calories low.
Picture of Daniel

Daniel

Daniel is an extremely curious person, a wealth of random knowledge and facts. Extremely passionate about a vast array of interests ranging from health to history, science to athletics, everything culinary and the list goes on. Trust us, you would want to be on his team for Trivial Pursuit. Daniel is also years into his battle with brain cancer. He experienced a seizure while on a Zoom call at work in late 2020 and quite literally, his life changed within minutes. After his operation he started to talk about his story but had always known it was more than just him. From then, More Than Our Story became a PROJECT that has evolved into the starting point it is today.

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