Chicken Carbonara

Ingredients

• Chicken breast

  Broilers or fryers, meat only, raw

  12 oz or 340g

• Bacon

  Raw, cured pork

  12 strip or 144g

• Spaghetti

  Dry pasta, enriched

  8 oz or 227g

• Pine nuts

  Nuts, dried

  ¼ cup or 34g

• Butter

  Unsalted

  2 tbsp or 28g

• Wheat flour

  Whole-grain

  2 tbsp or 15g

• Heavy whipping cream

  Fluid

  1 cup, fluid or 238g

• Reduced fat milk

  Fluid, 2% milkfat, with added vitamin a and vitamin d

  1 cup or 244g

• Sugar

  White, granulated sugar

  1 tsp or 4g

• Egg yolk

  Raw, fresh

  6 large yolk (separated from white) or 102g

• Parmesan cheese

  Shredded

  1 ½ cup or 120g

• Basil

  Fresh

  ½ cup leaves, whole or 12g

• Salt

  Table

  1 tsp or 6g

• Pepper

  Spices, black

  1 tsp or 2g

• Garlic

  Raw

  2 tbsp or 17g

• Parsley

  Raw

  ½ cup or 30g

• Lemons

  Raw, with peel

  1 fruit without seeds or 108g

Directions

1. Cook the bacon until crisp in a pan over medium heat. Drain and crumble. Set aside both crumbled bacon and bacon fat.
2. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Cool and set aside, but keep moist.
3. Toast pine nuts in a small dry sauté pan over medium heat until lightly browned. Set aside.
4. Mix the butter and flour together in a small sauté pan and heat over medium to low heat for four minutes until the raw flour smell is gone. Set aside.
5. Heat cream, milk, and sugar to hot in a small sauce pan. Do not boil.
6. Fill a low wide pot halfway with water and bring to a boil.
7. Beat egg yolks in stainless steel or heat proof glass bowl that will fit over hot water pan without touching water but don't place over hot water yet.
8. Slowly pour hot cream and milk into egg yolks in a very slow steady stream whipping vigorously as you pour. Place bowl over hot water and whip continuously until the mixture is hot but not scalding. This step is critical that you do not over heat, or you will scramble the eggs. If the mixture heats too quickly, pull bowl off of heat and let cool a bit and then back on, but whip continuously.
9. Once done, remove from heat and add 1 1/2 cups of Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup chopped basil, salt and pepper. Then, whisk in the cooked butter and flour mixture until the mixture is smooth. Set aside. If preparing early in day, refrigerate.
10. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.
11. Heat a pan of water to boiling with an opening large enough to drop a strainer into, to reheat the cooked pasta. Heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat and place the butter and two tablespoons of bacon fat with the chicken and sauté for two to three minutes until chicken is no longer pink. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
12. Place the pasta into the hot water for a few seconds, then into the pan with the chicken. Toss in the parsley, lemon zest and the crumbled bacon (save a little bacon to crumble over top of dish). Remove from heat and add in the egg yolk and cream mixture. Bring the pan just to serving temperature. Again, if you get it too hot, you will scramble the eggs.
13. Slide onto serving dishes and top with reserved crumbled bacon, sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and a little more basil and finish with the toasted pine nuts.