Happy MLK Day! To celebrate, Stephen and I are spending the day in DC playing tourists! We both decided to pick one museum ( I picked the Hirshhorn) and then grab lunch at Brown Bag and man, am I so excited!
Sometimes it’s nice to plan a little adventure. Speaking of which, remember those mussels from last weeks hot and sour soup? Well since I only used about half for that recipe, I decided to go full-on Italian and make pasta carbonara for you guys! It’s pretty dang delicious AND it’s crazy simple to make.
Between the creamy pasta and the steamed mussels, this meal feels pretty romantic to me. In fact, this would be an awesome Valentine’s Day meal! So simple, but your significant other will be forever impressed by your cooking skills (as they should be!).
(How gorgeous are those mussels?) Now, I won’t pretend that this meal is necessarily “ideal” for your new year’s diet, at least in terms of carbohydrate content. However, I do believe that the key to health is learning to eat many different things (including carbs) in moderation. And so, I am going to say go ahead grab a bowlful and, when you’re finished, rest easy knowing that you’ve just provided your body with some awesome energy!
Here’s what you get from one serving of this delicious pasta:
- Whole Wheat Pasta: Good source of carbohydrates, whole grains, and fiber
- Garlic: Anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-fungal. Great for warding off colds!
- Eggs: A good source of protein, vitamin A and choline which helps build healthy cell membranes, and contains the good kind of cholesterol.
- Olive Oil: Can help prevent stroke, promote a healthy liver, and help maintain a healthy cholesterol level.
- Basil:Can reduce inflammation and swelling, rich in antioxidants, and is a good source of vitamins A and K.
- Mussels: A good source of omega-3’s
- ½ box pasta (cooked according to instructions, reserving ½ cup of the cooking water)
- ½ cup reserved pasta cooking liquid
- 2 tbs. olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves (minced)
- ¼ cup. parmesan
- 2 eggs
- 2 basil leaves
- 10 mussels (cleaned)
- Boil a pot of water and season with 2 tsp. salt. Add the uncooked pasta and cook according to box instructions.
- Once cooked, reserve ½ cup of the cooking liquid, then drain.
- Set aside.
- In a large pan, add the olive oil and half of the garlic and warm over a medium heat.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and parmesan.
- Add the cooked spaghetti to the pan along with the egg mixture and toss together (be sure to keep the temp around medium-low to ensure that you don't end up with scrambled eggs).
- Once the pasta is ready, add 2 more cloves of minced garlic to the pan and warm then add the mussels along with about 1 cup of water. Heat over a medium temp for about 5 minutes until all of the mussels have opened.
- Serve the pasta with the mussels and a sprig of fresh basil!
- *This keeps extremely well in the fridge
