Pasta Carbonara with Pork Belly and Fresh Peas - Adapeted from Bon Appetit

The thing that diff-erentiates this recipe from other carbonaras you may have had is the pork belly. Start the day before serving by rubbing a 1 lb. piece of fresh port belly with 1/2t kosher salt and 1/2t ground coriander. Place in a bag and refrigerate over night. Several hours before serving, place the pork in an oven proof pan along with 1 small onion, quartered, 1 small carrot, 1 rib of celery, 2 garlic cloves, 1/4t whole pepper corns, 1/2C dry white wine and chicken stock mixed, in any proportion you wish. Bring to a simmer and then place, covered, in a 275 F oven for about 2 1/2 hours, turning the pork occationally. Remove from the pan and allow to cool. Reserve the cooking liquid and bring to 1/2C total with addition of wine or stock.

Boil the pasta of your choice. The recipe calls for spaghetti, but we used linguine and it will "sauce" 1 lb of pasta. While the pasta is cooking, beat together 2 eggs with 1/2C grated Pecarion Romano cheese and 1/4C parsley. Cut the rind and all but 1/2" of the fat from the pork and cut into 1/2" chunks. Fry the pork until nicely browned, adding 1 clove minced garlic near the end. Just before the pasta is done add 1 1/2C fresh peas. Drain the pasta and peas and return to the pan. Add the egg mixture and the reserved liquid, toss, and put the pasta, egg mix and peas into the skillet with the pork. Toss quickly and remove to the serving bowl. Top with some grated cheese.

We think the flavors added by the way the pork is prepared is well worth the extra work.