Experimenting with favorite ingredients sometimes lead to new discoveries. Like this Spanified Carbonara from Joan Nova.
Text And Photos By Joan Nova
I may have discovered my new favorite ‘comfort food’. It melds some of the flavors I’ve known since my youth; ingredients I’ve used over and over…but never together. I love garbanzos cooked with chorizo and have made it countless times. Chorizo + eggs, yum! That’s a breakfast (or lunch) saved for special occasions. And…I’m a certified pasta-holic!
So this is a simple, carbonara-esque, meld of Spanish flavors with Italian pasta and cheeses that I threw together when I had a need for a little ‘comfort’. 
A Spanish Carbonara
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2-3 1x
Description
A marriage of comfort food from Italy and Spain.
Ingredients
- 1 small chorizo diced
- 1 clove garlic finely minced
- 1 small tomato diced
- 1 can garbanzos
- dry seasonings: salt, chile flakes, oregano, fennel seed, star anis
- pimenton (paprika) for the eggs
- extra virgin olive oil
- 2 eggs
- 4–6 ozs. pasta (I used whole wheat linguine from Whole Foods)
- good quality Italian cheese (I used Piave Vecchio but Parmigiano Reggiano is great too)
Instructions
- Saute garlic, tomato and chorizo in olive oil for a few minutes, add beans with liquid and dry seasonings. Bring to a boil, lower heat until half of liquid is reduced.
- Meantime, bring water to a boil for the pasta and get eggs ready to slip in pan with garbanzos and into pre-heated oven. I give them a sprinkle of the prepared spice mix as well as pimenton to add that Spanish flavor.
- While pan is in the oven and the water is boiling, it’s the perfect time to throw the pasta in the pot. They should both be ready around the same time.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
Molto bene!
Wow, spanified indeed! ;)
Joan what a great dish! I love all of the ingredients. You are making me hungry, yummy.
This has your usual delcious twists Joan.
I like this inspired blend!
What temp. do you have the oven heated at?
Sorry…350 degrees which is standard mode for many dishes.