Goat Cheese and Roasted Asparagus Carbonara

You all know how much I love carbonara. It's one of my all-time favorite pasta dishes. I love experimenting with different add-ins, so this Goat Cheese and Roasted Asparagus Carbonara was perfect.

As always, I used my favorite carbonara recipe as a base and then followed the original recipe for the addition of the roasted asparagus and goat cheese. Not surprisingly, we all loved it. Baby Girl is still not the world's biggest asparagus fan, but she'll eat them. I, on the other hand, can never get enough and am loving that they're back in season. Those gorgeous stalks were perfect with the creamy, rich carbonara and the goat cheese added a nice tang.

Goat Cheese and Roasted Asparagus Carbonara
From Confections of a Foodie Bride and Nigella Lawson

2 bunches asparagus
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1lb linguine or spaghetti
8 slices thick-cut bacon, diced
1 large onion, sliced
1/4 cup dry white wine or vermouth
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan
1/4 cup heavy cream
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly ground nutmeg
4 oz goat cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 425. Place asparagus and garlic on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake for 12 minutes and then cut the stalks in half or thirds.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Set aside 1 cup of pasta water and then drain the pasta.

Cook the bacon until almost completely crisped. Add the onions and cook until softened and starting to caramelize, about 15 minutes. Add the white wine or vermouth and let it bubble so that, after a few minutes, you have a small amount of thick syrup left.

In a bowl, beat together the eggs, Parmesan, cream, pepper and nutmeg. Add the crumbled goat cheese, stirring to mix well.

Add the pasta to the pan, tossing well to coat with the syrupy sauce. Take the pan off the heat (remove from the stove completely, don't just turn off the burner) and add the eggs and cheese mixture, swiftly tossing everything with tongs to mix. Grind over some more pepper and grated cheese, if desired. Add the asparagus, toss to coat (adding some of the pasta water, if necessary).

Serve immediately.