Skillet Pasta With Bacon and Eggs
Emulsifying creamy carbonara sauce can feel trickier than treading a tightrope, but this skillet pasta recipe fulfills those cravings with ease, and all in one pan. Start by searing some sliced bacon until crisp, toasting orzo in the rendered bacon fat, then simmering with stock until pasta is al dente. Next, you’ll stir in a few handfuls of Parmesan, then crack eggs right into the nearly cooked pasta. The whites will cook until creamy, but the yolks should remain runny, so that as you eat, the yolk mingles with the pasta for silky spoonfuls.
- Preparation:
- Cooking:
- Total:
- Serves: 4 persons
Ingredients
- 4slices bacon, thinly sliced
- 1cup orzo
- Salt and pepper
- 2 ¾cups chicken stock or water, plus more as necessary
- ⅔cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
- 4large eggs
Instructions
Step 1
In a large Dutch oven or skillet (preferably nonstick) with a cover, heat the bacon over medium. Stir occasionally until golden and crisp, 5 to 8 minutes. Turn off the heat and transfer the bacon to a plate. Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat.Step 2
Add the orzo and a few generous grindings of pepper to the pot. Return to medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the orzo is golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and scrape up any browned bits from the pot. (If you’re using water, add a pinch of salt.) Simmer, stirring often, until the orzo is al dente, 7 to 9 minutes.Step 3
Add the Parmesan in big handfuls and stir until melted. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. At this point, you want the pasta loose like a stew; if it’s dry, stir in 1/4 cup stock or water.Step 4
Crack the eggs into the pasta, spacing them apart so they don’t touch, then cover and cook until the whites are just set and the yolks are still runny, 3 to 5 minutes.Step 5
Top the pasta with the bacon and more Parmesan and pepper, then spoon into bowls. As you eat, break up the egg yolk and stir it into the pasta until creamy.