The Simple But Fancy Ina Garten Spring Pasta You Need to Make ASAP

I live for pasta and I put it on my family's dinner table in some form practically every night. While olive oil noodles and spaghetti and meatballs are staple comfort foods, you can only have so much of it before the whole family is begging for something new. Luckily, culinary queen  Ina Garten is here to help.

Now that spring is here, it's prime time for one of the  Barefoot Contessa 's very best recipes—her  spring green spaghetti carbonara . It's a fresh take on Italian carbonara (with a nod or two to pasta primavera) and a great way to celebrate spring veggies. And because this is an Ina Garten recipe we're talking about, you know it has to be good.

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What Makes Ina Garten's Spring Green Carbonara So Special?

Ina's spring green pasta carbonara is basically springtime on a plate, using seasonal ingredients like snow peas, English peas and asparagus. The greens add plenty of nutrients, so you'll feed good when you serve this spaghetti dinner to your family. 

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But it's not just about the vegetables. This dish also features pancetta for a savory note, plus heavy cream and plenty of Parmesan cheese to build a creamy sauce. Traditional carbonara doesn't contain cream (the creamy sauce comes from the combo of egg yolks, fat from the pork, the starchy pasta water and the cheese), but it's a welcome addition here and so delicious with the vegetables. It's like the best of carbonara plus the best of pasta primavera in one dish. 

While you could toss all of those ingredients together and have a tasty pasta, Ina takes one more step to make her dish scream spring by adding scallions, chives and lemon for extra freshness. 

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How to Make Ina Garten's Spring Green Carbonara

To make the dish, cook your spaghetti and save a cup of pasta water. Then, toss in your snow peas, fresh peas and asparagus and cook it alongside the pasta for a few minutes before draining them all together.

Cook the pancetta, and then prep the sauce by mixing heavy cream, eggs, egg yolks, and pasta water. Add in your pasta and veggies, before finishing things off with Parmesan cheese, pancetta, scallions, chives, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper.

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A Few Tips to Keep in Mind When Making Ina Garten's Spring Green Carbonara

1. Ingredients matter.You can still make a delicious dish with frozen vegetables, but using fresh produce will really take the flavors to the next level.

2. Keep a close eye on your pasta.Timing is important with your noodles. Even letting them cook an extra few minutes could cause you to have gummy pasta that sticks together.

3. Prep your vegetables first.Because you'll be cooking the veggies with the noodles, you'll need to make sure the produce is ready to go. Skip the scramble to and have your vegetables ready to go (or nearly ready) by the time you put your spaghetti in the boiling water.

4. Don't skip the finishing touches.They might seem like they're just garnishes, but the scallions and chives will take this pasta from good to great. 

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