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Pasta Alfredo with Peas and Carrots—SRC Post for March

By Eliot, on March 19th, 2012

It is SRC time again!

Secret Recipe Club

I am a proud member of Secret Recipe Club and I applaud all of the blood, sweat, and tears put in by the founder,   Amanda.   The hosts are awesome as well (and all volunteers):   Angela,  Angel, Jane,  and Suzanne.   Please stop by their respective sites and give them some cudos.

Ladies, your dedication is appreciated!

SRC is a great way to expand your foodie horizons and meet different bloggers.   The premise is that you will be assigned a “secret pal,”  you explore your new friend’s site, and then secretly bake or cook away with one of your new pal’s recipes.   I have had great experiences in my previous assignments.

I was excited to be assigned Jo from Cairns Manor.    (Please check out her page and her two cute corgis.)

Her site is full of fun recipes and forays into gardening.

I can’t wait to peruse her site further, but for SRC, I chose to use her  Alfredo alla Romana as inspiration.   This is a great recipe and a great technique!

Since I am continuing with our 2012 Clean Out, I used some of the last of the frozen carrots from last year’s garden, the rest of the frozen peas from the pea ravioli, some frozen bacon from our surplus of porky meats, and some spaghetti that was languishing in the pantry.

Pasta Alfredo with Peas and Carrots
Inspired from Cairns Manor which adapted it  from The World in My Kitchen

1 lb pasta (Your favorite!)
1 stick butter, cut into smallish cubes  (I didn’t have a full stick o’ butter in the house.   I added a bit of olive oil to compensate.  It seemed to work well!)
4 cloves of garlic, minced  (Think I would use more next time.  Maybe mine were smallish.)
Freshly ground pepper to taste  (Lots and lots of pepper!)
1 c. half-and-half
1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 c. frozen peas, thawed
1 c. sliced steamed carrots
1/3 c. crumbled cooked bacon

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until just al dente. Drain in a colander and return them to the pan you boiled it  in. Add in the butter and place over medium low heat.

While the butter melts, grind as much pepper as you would like over the pasta and gently toss together.

Lots of pepper!

Once the butter has completely melted, add in the garlic and again toss to combine. Continue stirring the pasta gently while the garlic cooks for 3-4 minutes. You will want the aroma of garlic wafting through your kitchen.

Add the half-and-half, gently mixing it into the pasta mixture.  Continue to cook the pasta until most of the half-and-half has been absorbed.

Add the cheese, peas, carrots and bacon.  Continue to gently mix everything together until the cheese has melted and the peas, carrots, and bacon have heated through.

Peas and carrots!

Serve hot with additional cheese and fresh black pepper at the table for those who want more of either.

The finished dish.

Tip:   Use partially frozen bacon.  It is easier to chop and much easier to cut off the fat.

Use lean bacon if possible. If not, cut off as much fat as you can.

I had never made Alfredo with this method.   I love it and it will be my go-to Alfredo recipe from now on.   Thanks, Jo!

I also have my eye on another of Jo’s recipes:  Honey Thyme Flatbread.  I want to try this with a bit of Manchego and honey.   (This dish was sooo good at our Wine Tasting.)

Happy Monday and I hope everyone has a great week!



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28 comments to Pasta Alfredo with Peas and Carrots—SRC Post for March

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