When I came across this recipe on the interwebs, it called for using cheese tortellini and no spinach or cream.
Well… I had spinach ravioli in the fridge, a bag of baby spinach in the crisper, and some heavy cream that wasn’t getting any younger, so, I thought mebbe turn it all into a kindofa bacon and hard cooked egg carbonara.
But without the peas. Rich doesn’t mind peas, but they cannot touch any other food.
Peas or no, tortellini or no, this made for a fine pasta dinner.
Note: your pasta choice is up to you; cheese tortellini or short, ridged pasta (penne, fusilli, etc.) will work fine.
INGREDIENTS
•12 oz uncured bacon
•Gateway to the North Maple Garlic Seasoning*
•Garlic Powder
•Black pepper
•Maple syrup
•3 or 4 eggs
•20 oz spinach and cheese ravioli
•2 hefty tbsp minced fresh garlic
•5 oz baby spinach
•2 tbsp heavy cream
•2 tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese
•Freshly chopped chives
•Sea salt
•Black pepper
•Aleppo pepper
•Crushed red pepper
*Or your favorite steak seasoning.
Arrange the eggs in a single layer in a pan, then cover with cold water.
Bring to a boil over high heat, then immediately remove from the heat, cover, and set aside to rest for nine minutes (seven minutes, if you want slightly loose yolks).
After the time is up, transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water and set them aside.
Heat the oven to 400º and apply cooking spray to a rack set into a foil lined baking pan.
Arrange the bacon in a single layer on the rack and season with the Gateway to the North (or steak) Seasoning, garlic powder, and black pepper.
Pop into the oven for fifteen minutes, until the bacon has begun to brown.
Remove the pan from the oven (careful about the grease!), brush with the maple syrup then return to the oven and bake for another five to ten minutes.
Transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain, but save any bacon drippings in the pan.
Cook the ravioli in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package instructions, then drain and transfer to a shallow, wide bowl.
Heat two tablespoons of the bacon fat in a large skillet over medium high heat, then add the minced garlic and cook for one minute. Add the baby spinach and sauté just until wilted, then stir in the cream and the Parmesan.
Toss the spinach with the raviolis, sprinkle with a couple of crumbled slices of the cooked bacon, the sliced, peeled eggs, and season with additional sea salt, peppers, and chives.
Serve warm or at room temperature.