The other day I was watching Rachel Ray (yes..I watch her from time to time) and she had mentioned that her husband’s favorite recipe was Coal Miner Pasta. I was interested by the name of the dish and it sounded really good. I used her recipe from her site but made some changes to it.
How to make Coal Miner Pasta:
Ingredients:
- Salt
- 1 pound of spaghetti noodles
- 4 pieces of bacon
- 2 slices of tomatoes, chopped.
- Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus 2 tablespoons
- 4 or 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped ( I used the pre-chopped garlic in the little jar- works great!)
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (a few pinches) crushed in the palm of your hand
- 1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken stock
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 big handfuls of mozzarella cheese
- A few grinds black pepper
Preparation:
Place a large pot of water on the stove to boil. When water is rolling, add salt and pasta and cook to al dente, about eight minutes, reserving 1/4 cup pasta water.
While pasta cooks, heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Pre-cook your bacon in the microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes and then place in a drizzle of EVOO until it browns, 3-5 minutes. Add EVOO, 2 scoops of garlic, your crushed pepper flakes and diced tomatoes, . Sauté garlic two minutes. Add wine or stock to the pan and reduce liquid by half, about 2-3 minutes.
Beat together egg yolks, and cheese.
- A tip to get egg yolks out is to use an empty water bottle. Squeeze the bottle together and place the opening on top of the yolk. Release, and the yolk will slide up into the water bottle. Vuala!!
Drain pasta. Add pasta to pan with sauce. Toss pasta with bacon; add egg mixture and toss one minute, then remove from heat. Continue to toss until sauce is absorbed by and thickly coating the pasta. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper and serve with extra cheese, for passing.
I really really enjoyed this dish. It had taste similar to eating alfredo pasta. I kept adding a little bit more chicken stock while it was sitting in the pan because it would become try. I’m definitely going to make this again.
