Carbonara is a perfect example of how simple food can be transcendent! It’s super easy to make and is always met with delight at my house. I break with the tradition a bit in my recipe in that I use bacon instead of pancetta because I like smokey salty bacon better than pancetta and because it means that I always have the ingredients around to whip up some carbonara for a quick dinner any day of the week!
Ingredients:
– 4 oz bacon, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
– 2 eggs + 4 yolks
– 1Tbsp Olive Oil
– 4 oz grated parmesan
– 14.5 oz box of spaghetti
How I Make It:
– Add olive oil to cold skillet, then bacon, then turn on medium heat to render bacon fat and cook until bacon is thoroughly cooked, but not quite crispy.
– Remove skillet of bacon from heat and set aside.
– In a large pot, boil water with 2tsp salt and cook spaghetti until al dente
– Ladle one cup of cooking liquid from the pot one minute before draining and set aside.
– In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, yolks, pinch of salt and as much pepper as you like. Whisk until the eggs are completely combined, then add the parmesan and mix thoroughly.
– Drain pasta and immediately add to cooled skillet with bacon and grease and turn the pasta in the skillet continuously with tongs until it is completely dressed with the bacon grease.
– Add egg mixture and mix thoroughly with the pasta and bacon, while adding the pasta liquid gradually, continually mixing until it reaches the desired consistency.
– Serve immediately
Options:
– Garnish with any kind of fresh herbs that you like: chives, parsley, and basil all work extremely well.
– Top with extra parmesan
– Substitute pancetta for the bacon
Tips:
* Cook the bacon and set the skillet aside before boiling the pasta water to ensure that the skillet and grease cool enough that your egg mixture doesn’t curdle when you add and give you a spaghetti frittata instead!
* Many people love peas with carbonara, and I often make them to serve with the carbonara, however I serve them on the side because I find that adding them to the dish directly alters the texture of the sauce.
* Freeze your egg whites to use for another dish, or use them to make Pavlova!
I think you’ll find this recipe as easy as any quick pasta dish but with the happy factor way turned up!
Happy Eating!
