Chicken & Cauliflower Carbonara with Crispy Bacon

This is the best any night of the week dinner. It's not the most traditional carbonara pasta, but it is DELICIOUS. To the purist, a classic carbonara is all about the wheat pasta, black pepper, bacon and the egg yolk folded in to bind everything together. Luckily, I am not that much of a purist. I like to mix things up a little, which is why I created this veggie loaded recipe. It combines wonderful fresh ingredients that work well together to create the creamiest, veggie loaded, dairy free carbonara sauce. I’ve also used a combination of zoodles and GF noodles so it’s gluten-free + i’ve omitted the egg yolk to cater to all of my egg free friends.

Easiest under 30 minute dinner. Super simple but always a favourite.

Serves 4

‘CARBONARA’ SAUCE INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cauliflower, roughly chopped

• 1 zucchini, roughly chopped

• 2 broccoli stems, chopped

• 1-2 Tbsp ghee (or butter)

• Salt to taste

• 1 cup chicken bone broth

• Optional; add in a handful of spinach if you would like to make the sauce ‘greener’

INGREDIENTS

• Roughly 500g chicken thigh, diced

• 4-6 rashers of chemical free bacon, diced

• 1 large brown onion, diced

• 4 cloves garlic, finely diced

• 1/2 - 1 tsp black pepper

• 1-2 tsp mild mustard seeds

• 1 Tbsp ghee (or butter) for cooking

• 1 Tbsp olive oil for cooking

• 1 packet GF pasta (I like to add in spiralised zucchini into the pasta as well) I like this GF Pasta and the Ceres Organic GF Pasta

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat a large frying pan with the ghee and olive oil. Saute the onion until golden brown.

2. Add the diced bacon and cook until crispy and golden brown. Then add the garlic and stir through.

3. Meanwhile, boil the cauliflower, zucchini, broccoli stems in bone broth, or steam in water until soft and cooked through.

4. When the onion and bacon mixture is golden and crispy, remove it from the pan and onto a plate.

5. Cook the chicken pieces in the leftover bacon fat until golden brown. Add in the mustard seeds, salt and pepper and stir it through for a few more minutes. Turn off the heat.

6. When the veggies are ready, strain off the excess broth or water. Add them into a food processor and blend with 1-2 Tbsp ghee (or butter) and 1 cup bone broth until smooth and creamy. Taste the mixture and add salt if needed. If the sauce is too thick, add a little more bone broth and re-blend until you reach your desired consistency. If you want the sauce to be ‘greener’ in colour, blend through some spinach leaves now until super smooth and creamy (this is optional).

7. Bring some water to the boil in a large saucepan. Add a good pinch of salt.

8. Add the GF noodles to the boiling water. Follow the cooking instructions on the packet. I like to add in the zucchini noodles (zoodles) in the last 2 minutes to cook (this is optional).

9. Once the pasta is al dente, pour into a strainer/ colander.

10. Add the chicken, bacon mix and noodles into a large bowl. Pour 1/2 - 3/4 of the carbonara sauce in and mix gently to combine evenly. Add more sauce if desired.

11. Serve in bowls and garnish with some freshly chopped parsley. ENJOY!

For similar recipes, please check out my Creamy Basil & Prawn Alfredo Noodle dish.