Orecchiette Carbonara With Peas

• Salt
• 3 ounces apple-wood smoked bacon, thickly sliced and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 4 ounces pancetta, coarsely chopped so you have 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
• 1 1/2 cups peas
• 2 teaspoons thyme leaves
• 3 eggs
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 3/4 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1 pound orecchiette
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 20 small pea shoots (or small spinach leaves)
• 1/2 lemon
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil.
2. In a large saute pan, place bacon and pancetta in oil over medium-low heat.
3. Cook until bacon is browned and has rendered most of its fat.
4. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of fat, leaving meat in the pan.
5. Scrape in onion and garlic, and saute until glassy and translucent, then add peas and thyme.
6. Cook for 1 minute, then turn off heat.
7. In a large mixing bowl, lightly whisk together eggs, egg yolks and cheese.
8. When water comes to a rolling boil, stir in pasta and cook until tender but still a little chewy in the center (like a piece of gum).
9. Ladle out a cup of cooking water, and reserve.
10. Drain pasta, and pour it into saute pan with bacon; grind coarse pepper over top.
11. Fold pasta into sauce.
12. Tip pasta into egg mixture, and fold it all together quickly, so eggs cook and coat pasta with a velvety sauce.
13. Add pea tendrils (or spinach), and fold once more.
14. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding a generous squeeze of lemon juice.
15. Add a little pasta water if it becomes too thick.
16. Spoon into shallow bowls, and sprinkle with parsley.

salt, applewood smoked bacon, pancetta, olive oil, onion, garlic, peas, thyme, eggs, egg yolks, cheese, orecchiette, freshly ground black pepper, shoots, lemon, flatleaf parsley

Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/9607 (may not work)