I Make This Easy Ina Garten Pasta Every Spring

As a native New Englander, I’ve never been too bothered by long, cold, and dark winters. However, now that those winters are spent cooped up inside with three rambunctious kids, the slow crawl to warmer weather and longer days feels especially taxing. Mix in a month-long bout with the flu this year, and I’ve never been more ready for spring.

While true spring in New England lasts about four days, it’s one of my favorite times of the year. The promise of summer is on the horizon, the air is crisp and clear, the sun is out past 4 p.m., and the markets are filled with all of the most delicious spring produce: peas, asparagus, snap peas, radishes, and more!

The flavor palette of spring is a refreshing reprieve from the heavy, braised items I tend to lean on during the colder months. One dish I look forward to making every spring is Ina Garten’s Spring Green Spaghetti Carbonara. It has everything you want in a spring pasta: peas, asparagus, brightness from lemon zest, lots of Parmesan, and crispy rendered bacon or pancetta.

With all due respect to Ina, my true culinary north star, I would liken this dish to more of a primavera than a true carbonara since it contains cream. No matter what you call it, it’s absolutely delicious. Over the years, I’ve made a few modifications to make it a bit easier (and more affordable) to pull together on even the busiest weeknights.

How To Make Ina Garten's Spring Green Spaghetti Carbonara

First up, the vegetables. While I love snow peas, they are not readily available at my local grocery store, so I use an additional 1/2 cup of frozen peas instead. Also, I find scallions to be a bit overwhelming in this dish, so I omit those and just use the chives.

As for the pork, I love this with either bacon or pancetta, but I usually end up using bacon because I seem to always have a few slices on hand. Last, since the price of eggs is rivaling the price of truffles these days, I use only two egg yolks instead of the two whole eggs and two egg yolks the recipe calls for.

I love how Ina cleverly instructs you to cook the vegetables in the same pot of water as the pasta. For the sauce, I do make a few slight modifications. I’m a big fan of pork fat and was taught from a very young age that it should not go to waste. When the bacon renders, I take about two tablespoons of the reserved fat and whisk it with the egg yolks, Parmesan, and heavy cream. Once this is combined, I add a splash of the reserved pasta water to bring everything together before adding the pasta. This gives the sauce a bit more body and richness.

In terms of spaghetti, look for a brand extruded through a bronze die. This will ensure the surface of the noodles is rough, allowing them to soak up all of the delicious cream sauce. We rarely have leftovers, but if you are feeding a smaller crowd, save some of the reserved pasta water to use to reheat your leftovers. It will ensure the sauce returns to its perfect, emulsified glory when reheated.