Steak marinara pasta

[Crosshairy]

I stole from several recipes today, including one for a tomato-based "carbonara".

Cubed up some shoulder and ham steaks and seared them
Several cloves of garlic
1-2 TBspoons olive oil
5 or 6 tomatoes (some I diced, others I blended)
Several handfuls of mushrooms left in large pieces (whole or halved)
Salt and pepper (good bit of salt, maybe 2 tablespoons of kosher)
Chopped basil leaves
Red wine to deglaze the skillet and throw in

Everything in the crock pot all afternoon. Poured it over a pot of rotini pasta.
Pretty simple recipe, and my kids (2 and 5) ate it like wolves.

If the kids weren't there I would suggest red pepper to give it an edge. Also, might want to go heavier on the garlic if you like it.

 

[TAFKAP]

Carbonara isn't tomato based.....at least none I've ever encountered.

Looks really good, though.

 

[Crosshairy]

That's why I put carbonara in quotes

I think the reasoning was that they were getting rid of the cream sauce for something more vegetable-oriented.

Also, most carbonara recipes that I saw involved chicken or bacon, but I was using steak.

So basically, this recipe has almost nothing to do with carbonara, except that it's served over noodles and has a few similarities in seasonings.

 

[BamaProud]

I made my first Carbonara just a couple of days ago. We had it on a Cruise a couple weeks ago and decided to try to recreate it.

I used a combination of these recipes
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyle ... index.html

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne ... index.html

It turned out very good. Its definitely a recipe where proper timing and heat management is essential.

 

[TAFKAP]

The carbonara I was taught to make came from the hills of Mt. Etna in Sicily when my dad was stationed there in the Navy........

1-Egg, 1C cream, 1/2 C grated parmesan cheese, 1 TBSP red wine vinegar, garlic powder to taste, basil, salt, pepper and bacon.

Sautee the chopped bacon (classically made with pancetta) & drain. Cook the pasta. Mix all the ingredients (except for the vinegar...add it at the very last second) in a bowl and wait for the pasta to finish.

Drain pasta, toss in the red wine vinegar in the bowl, and mix everything together.

The residual heat of the pasta & bacon will "cook" the egg and curdle the mixture into a cheese-type binder.

I would expect the meat to be pretty transferrable, as I've seen it with chicken, pork, bacon, and "vegetarian" before. Sometimes veggies are sauteed with the meat for flavor & texture. But I've never seen tomatoes in a carbonara.

 

[Crosshairy]

The carbonara I was taught to make came from the hills of Mt. Etna in Sicily when my dad was stationed there in the Navy........

1-Egg, 1C cream, 1/2 C grated parmesan cheese, 1 TBSP red wine vinegar, garlic powder to taste, basil, salt, pepper and bacon.

Sautee the chopped bacon (classically made with pancetta) & drain. Cook the pasta. Mix all the ingredients (except for the vinegar...add it at the very last second) in a bowl and wait for the pasta to finish.

Drain pasta, toss in the red wine vinegar in the bowl, and mix everything together.

The residual heat of the pasta & bacon will "cook" the egg and curdle the mixture into a cheese-type binder.

I would expect the meat to be pretty transferrable, as I've seen it with chicken, pork, bacon, and "vegetarian" before. Sometimes veggies are sauteed with the meat for flavor & texture. But I've never seen tomatoes in a carbonara.

My wife cooked something with pancetta last year, and it was awesome.

The recipe I used was pretty good, but it was nowhere near as tasty as some creamy, bacon-y genuine carbonara.

I honestly wish that lady hadn't used the word "carbonara" in her recipe, because it just made it confusing. That's why the title of my post excluded it.

I'd like to try making the real thing, but my wife hates eggs, so that part is tricky to get around (if the egg flavor is detectable, it's a no-go). Needless to say, I cook a lot of eggs for breakfast for myself and the kids to make up for it

 

[BamaProud]

I'd be willing to bet she wouldn't know there were eggs in it. It tastes more like a cheese sauce.

 

[TAFKAP]

You have no idea there's egg in it....unless you cook it wrong. Then it's "breakfast spaghetti", covered in parmesan

 

[jb3]

Best way to serve carbonara is to save the egg till the end. Plate the pasta and place the egg yolk on top. Mix it yourself and chow.