Linguine alla Carbonara with Italian Sausage Meatballs

In this Linguine alla Carbonara, browned Italian sausage meatballs, crispy bacon and peas are tossed in a simple yet luxurious sauce made with egg yolks and freshly grated pecorino romano cheese. So simple and delicious! Yields 6 to 8 servings.

Course Mains & Entrees

Cuisine Italian

Keyword bacon, egg yolks, italian sausage, peas, pecorino romano cheese

Prep Time 35

Cook Time 25

Total Time 1

Servings servings

Calories 532

Author Laurie McNamara

Ingredients

1/2 pound center cut bacon sliced
reserved bacon fat
olive oil
1 pound mild or hot italian sausage
3 clove garlic sliced
4 large egg yolks
1 cup pecorino romano cheese freshly grated, plus more for serving
kosher salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 to 1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 cup petite peas
1 pound linguine
minced fresh parsley for serving

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

In a 10 to 12-inch skillet, add the bacon. Cook over medium to medium-low heat stirring occasionally. Once bacon is crispy, use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.
Meanwhile, remove the casing from (hot or mild) Italian sausage. Then roll small pieces (about 1 to 2 teaspoons) in the palm of your hands to form little bite-size meatballs.
One pound of Italian sausage should yield about 30 meatballs depending on the size.
If there’s not a lot of bacon fat in the pan, add a little bit of olive oil and add the meatballs. Working in batches if necessary. Brown the sausage balls on all sides, until they are cooked throughout - about 15 minutes.
Brown the sausage balls on all sides, until they are fully cooked. Once the sausage balls are cooked through, add 3 sliced cloves of garlic and stir until the garlic is aromatic, soft and lightly golden, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the sausage balls to paper towel lined plate to drain.
Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted (a small palmful of fine sea salt) water to boil. Once boiling, stir in the linguine pasta and cook following the package directions. For me it was 10 minutes.
Next, in a large bowl add egg yolks, cheese, lemon zest, a pinch of kosher salt and a generous amount of black pepper. Then stir well to combine.
Once the past is cooked, do not drain! Instead, use tongs to remove the pasta from the pasta water and immediately transfer to the egg and cheese mixture. If some pasta water gets in there, that’s okay! It will help thin the sauce.
Toss the hot pasta into the egg mixture until evenly coated in the sauce and cheese has melted. The hot pasta will gently cook the egg, yielding a luscious velvety sauce.
Next, add in the peas, cooked bacon, sausage and garlic. Toss well to combine. If you want to loosen the sauce up a bit, add a little pasta water at a time until you reach a desired consistency.
Use tongs to serve pasta into individual bowls and top with minced fresh parsley and freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese.

Notes

Nutrition Disclaimer: All information presented on this site is intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information shared on SimplyScratch.com should only be used as a general guideline.

Nutrition