Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Also known as coal miner’s spaghetti (according to wikipedia), pasta alla carbonara is a really simple and easy dish to prepare (why I’m done cooking in under 20 minutes).
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 oz Spaghetti
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil extra virgin
- 4 oz Pancetta or slab bacon / cubed or sliced into small strips
- 5 cloves Garlic finely chopped
- 2 pcs Eggs large size
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese grated / or even better freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano, plus more for serving
- Black Pepper for taste
- 1 handful Parsley handful fresh flat-leaf / chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender yet firm (as they say in Italian “al dente”).
- Drain the pasta well, reserving ½ cup of the starchy cooking water to use in the sauce if you wish.
- Meanwhile, heat a little olive oil in a deep skillet over medium flame.
- Add the bacon and cook until crisp and the fat is rendered.
- Transfer bacon in a small platter and set aside, discard bacon fat and replace with 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
- Add the garlic into the hot EVOO and saute for less than 1 minute to soften.
- I like to cook it until it browns a little.
- Add hot spaghetti to the pan and toss for 2 minutes to coat the strands in the olive oil.
- Beat the eggs and parmesan together in a mixing bowl, stirring well to prevent lumps.
- Remove the pan from the heat and pour the egg/cheese mixture into the pasta, whisking quickly until the eggs thicken, but do not scramble. (this is done off the heat to ensure this does not happen)
- Thin out the sauce with a bit of the reserved pasta water, until it reaches desired consistency.
- Season the carbonara with several turns of freshly ground black pepper and taste for salt.
- Mound the spaghetti carbonara into warm serving bowls and garnish with chopped parsley.
- Pass more cheese around the table.
- Enjoy!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!