Pasta Carbonara
From fizzle3nat 16 years ago
- 15 minutes to make
- Serves 2
This was tonight's dinner. I adapted this recipe from the Delicious Days blog. I don't have easy access to Pecorino Romano cheese, much less Guanciale or even Pancetta in my town or even the larger city about 30 miles away. Read more Even if it was available, those ingredients would be quite expensive. I did however, have real Parmigiano Reggiano, which I substituted for the Pecorino, and I used a nice bacon for the Guanciale. If you can find and/or afford the 'real deal', by all means, try it! The only spaghetti I had was whole wheat, and I didn't want to use that in this recipe, so I used bucatini, which is like a really long macaroni noodle. I also converted the recipe from metric to standard measurements. This is probably one of the most authentic recipes I've found for Pasta Carbonara; most ask for cream, which is not a traditional ingredient. The egg yolks smooth and slightly thicken the sauce, and add their own richness, so cream is not needed. I don't think the Italians would mind that I switched things up to fit the ingredients in my 'region', since that's what they do over there! Enjoy! (Doh! I forgot to put the pepper on the pasta before I took the picture!) See less
Ingredients
- 3/4 tsp. fresh peppercorns, I used Tellicherry shopping list
- 8 oz. spaghetti, but you can use linguini or perciatelli (bucatini) shopping list
- salt shopping list
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed slightly (use your hand or the side of a knife blade) shopping list
- 2 - 3 oz. bacon, about 2 slices (or if you can find it, Guanciale is traditional, or pancetta) shopping list
- 4 egg yolks shopping list
- 2 - 3 oz. grated fresh parmigiano Reggiano cheese (traditional is Pecorino Romano) shopping list
- 2 - 3 TBSP. pasta cooking water (see instructions below) shopping list
How to make it
- Crush peppercorns in a mortar and pestle as finely as desired.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add a good pinch or two of salt. Cook pasta according to package directions. Skim off two to three TBSP. of the cooking water halfway through the cooking process and set aside in a bowl to let it cool a bit.
- Slice the bacon into small pieces. Heat the bacon and the garlic clove in a fry pan over medium heat (do not add additional oil) until most of the fat has rendered from the bacon and it is nicely colored and crisp. Discard the garlic as soon as it begins to brown. Drain the bacon on a paper towel and set aside. Pour the bacon grease from the pan into another small bowl to let cool a bit until further use.
- In a medium bowl, beat together the egg yolks and about two-thirds of the grated cheese, then add the reserved pasta cooking water, which will have now cooled enough to not curdle the eggs when you add it. Mix well. Don't worry, the eggs will cook when tossed with the pasta.
- Drain the pasta well, then toss together with the egg-cheese mixture and some of the excess bacon grease. Start with a tablespoon and add more to your taste. Stir together until the pasta is evenly coated with a smooth and silky film and the cheese is completely melted. Divide onto two plates, then top with the bacon pieces, the remaining grated Parmigiano, and most importantly: a generous pinch of ground pepper (I forgot to put it on my dish before I snapped the pic - and it's a very necessary ingredient.)
- Enjoy immediately!
The Rating
Reviewed by 7 people-
i love this stuff yummy for sure thank you for this great tasting meal
five
tink
minitindel
in THE HEART OF THE WINE COUNTRY loved it
-
Wonderful recipe Natalie. You sure got my 5
brianna
in loved it
-
5 from the Itaian
cookingforfun
in Marblehead loved it
The Groups
- Not added to any groups yet!
Reviews & Comments 7
-
All Comments
-
Your Comments
" It was excellent "
" It was excellent "
" It was excellent "
" It was excellent "
" It was excellent "