Sir Pope Francis Bacon Carbonara Lasagne I.

Being that this blog is entitled as such, I thought it apropos to have my first entry be about none other than some noodles. 

And I shall name you... 

Sir, Pope, Francis Bacon Carbonara Lasagne I

 

Apologies for the kind of shitty picture. 

 Yes, it's a very long name, but I promise you that the recipe is simple, and award-winning delicious!  Because everything is better with bacon!* 

Here's a little etymology of the name of my lasagne.

Francis Bacon's: Study after Velázquez's Portrait of a Pope Innocent X

 

Hey!  It's Sir Francis Bacon- or is that Shakespeare?!

 

Rome, the birthplace of Carbonara, and home of none other than the Pope! 

Well, technically Vatican City is the Pope's home, but close enough.

And of course, we have a new Pope:

née Jorge Mario Bergoglio, but I like to call him "George"

Hey! Nice shoes George!

Thanks for following me on a little sojourn through my scattered thought process.  Now, what you've been waiting for... Here's the recipe:

Sir, Pope, Francis Bacon Carbonara Lasagne I 

Empirical method, no fancy red sauce for this dish!

Ingredients:

4 oz. uncured slab bacon (sliced into ¼” cubes)

1 lb. chicken tenders or breasts

1 cup chicken stock

3 clove garlic (minced)

½ cup heavy cream or 1 cup half & half,

2 eggs (beaten)

½ cup pecorino romano (grated)

½ cup parmigiano-reggiano (grated)

1 cup mozzarella (shredded)

1 tbsp. fresh basil (optional)

1 tbsp. ground black pepper

4 oz. spinach (thawed frozen or fresh)

1 box no boil lasagna noodles

Topped with chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley

Preheat oven to 375degrees.  Cook bacon in large, heavy-bottomed pan.  Remove from pan. Drain & reserve all but 1tsp. of fat from pan.  Cook chicken in fat 2-3 min per side, adding ½ cup chix stock after flipping.  Remove chix from pan & shred with a fork.  Add remaining chicken stock to pan to deglaze pan.  Stir in cream, garlic, basil, ground pepper, & ¼ cup parmesan.    Simmer sauce & stir. (don’t let it burn).  In a large bowl, mix remaining ¼ cup parmesan, ¾ cup mozzarella, and romano cheeses with the beaten eggs. 

Spoon a layer of sauce into a 9x13” pan.  Add a layer of noodles.  Add another layer of sauce, add chicken, add cheese mixture, top with spinach.  Repeat layers ending on top with noodles.  Drizzle with olive oil (optional).  Cover with tinfoil and bake for 25 minutes. 

Remove tinfoil, add remaining ¼ cup mozzarella, and bake for another 10 minutes.

Buon Appetito!

 

*Apparently, bacon possesses six ingredient types of umami which is probably why it's so scrumptious.

P.S.

Check out 
 Michael Wolf Photography
to see some mind-blowing photographs
including a "real fake" of Francis Bacon's

Study after Velázquez's Portrait of a Pope Innocent X

http://photomichaelwolf.com/#real-fake-art/3