Citrus Carbonara

Today, I have a dish from a food magazine that is quickly becoming my favorite, and that is La Cucina Italiana. This is from a citrus article in the February issue which was full of great food. There was also an article about espresso, and the prawns in aromatic cream sauce with coffee beans looked divine. And, there was an article about truffles, and one about fritters from Venice, and I do like Italian food. I may end up making almost every recipe from the citrus story like the vegetables and orange sauce and chicken with citrus couscous, but first off I made the citrus carbonara.

This dish was intended to be pasta served with pan roasted rabbit. I’m not opposed to cooking rabbit, and I’m not opposed to eating it for that matter, but I wasn’t able to buy any locally this week. The recipe calls for rabbit loins which can be ordered from D’Artagnan, but I wanted to avoid having something shipped so I called around town. Rabbit loins cannot be found in Austin, but whole rabbit may be had at some stores on the right day. When I asked at Whole Foods, they informed me that I would probably never see rabbit sold in their Austin stores because they have not been able to find a local provider that meets their animal compassion guidelines. To this I say: come on Texas-area rabbit ranchers, raise your animals more compassionately so that I can buy them at Whole Foods. Until then or until I place a D’Artagnan order, I’ll be making a vegetarian version of this dish which is what I’m showing here.

Some zest was grated from a tangerine and a lemon. The remaining peels of the tangerine and lemon were removed. I then cut off any pith that came with the peel and thinly sliced the peel. The pasta water was brought to a boil, and the juices from the tangerine and lemon were added to it. While the pasta cooked, the grated zest, egg yolks, grated parmigiano reggiano, and chopped parsley were whisked together with a little water and salt and pepper. The drained pasta was then tossed with the egg and cheese mixture, and some reserved pasta boiling water was added to thin the sauce. On the plate, it received an olive oil drizzle and a topping of sliced citrus peel. The fresh, light citrus flavor made it easy to ignore the calories lurking in the egg yolks and cheese. This was even quicker and simpler to make without the rabbit, and it was completely delicious.