Holiday menus often include traditional staples sure to satisfy their guests, but they also require new original dishes to impress them. A great way to bring excitement to the festive dinner can be achieved through a simple modification of classic recipes making them stand out for the holiday meal.
Pasta alla Carbonara, for example, is a popular Italian dish from Rome commonly made with spaghetti that can be prepared using another pasta shape as rigatoni. The rich and smooth sauce made with egg, hard cheese, guanciale and black pepper can be enriched by adding crispy artichokes, another common Roman delicacy. In fact, fried artichokes are a staple of Roman cuisine, served whole as an appetizer, known as Carciofi alla Giudia, or as a delicious side dish.
Carbonara is already known to have a few variations, for example in the choice of cheeses, that can include either Pecorino, Parmigiano Reggiano (or Grana Padano) or a combination of both. The smokiness is brought in by guanciale, pancetta or bacon, and the pasta used can vary from fettucine, linguini or bucatini. An egg-free version, called pasta alla gricia, is believed to have originated during the Roman Empire, and more recently one with a tomato-based sauce, the popular amatriciana.
In any of these recipes, the rich and cheesy sauce perfectly mixed into the pasta is what makes this dish irresistible. Barilla Collezione® Rigatoni is bronze cut for texture that perfectly holds sauces and always cooks up perfectly al dente. Using a short pasta like rigatoni will also make the dish easier to serve for large crowds while the crispy artichoke and guanciale toppings will balance the creamy texture of the dish and add an elegant touch to your holiday feast.
Carbonara with Artichokes
Serves 6
1 box Barilla Collezione ® Rigatoni, 6 egg yolks, 6 artichokes, 1 garlic clove in its skin, 2 sprigs of thyme, 4 oz guanciale or bacon, 5 oz grated Grana Padano, 5 oz grated Pecorino, salt and pepper to taste.
How to prepare it
Step 1 - Clean and prepare the artichokes
Clean the artichokes, slice them in half and cook them in a large pot of salted and slightly acidic boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove them and soak them in iced water (they can be substituted with frozen artichokes, making sure to dry them well before frying). When cool, pat them dry and slice them as thinly as possible. Heat a few drops of oil with the garlic and the thyme in a saucepan and cook the artichokes until they are very crispy. Add salt and set aside.
Step 2 - Make the carbonara sauce
Prepare the base of the carbonara by mixing the egg yolks with the grated cheese, salt and pepper. Cook the guanciale in a pan with no oil and at low heat until it becomes crispy.
Step 3 – Cook the pasta and assemble the dish
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water and drain when it’s al dente. Put the pasta in a bowl or back in the pan but make sure to remove it from the heat and to set it aside to avoid cooking the egg. Dress the pasta right away with the guanciale and its fat. Pour the mixture on the rigatoni and mix well, while still removed from heat. Top it off with crispy artichokes and pecorino. Lastly, add pepper and serve.