Pasta carbonara
Thanks for all the get well wishes. This head-cold continues to kick my butt and make life miserable. It’s times like this that I truly appreciate simple food like pasta carbonara. Authentic carbonara should be made with guanciale, a pork cheek that is rubbed with salt and pepper and cured for three weeks. But since I don’t have guanciale, nor do I have pancetta, I made do with 1/4 lb. of delicious bacon…not authentic, but tasty nonetheless. An egg, some grated parmesan, freshly ground black pepper, a pound of pasta, and a splash of pasta water round out the ingredients.
Put your pasta water on to boil, make sure you salt it really, really, well…I bet I use 2 -3 tablespoons. Dice the bacon and put it in a skillet over medium low heat. Once the bacon is done remove it from the pan. Grate about a cup of parmesan and set it aside. Once your pasta of choice is done, drain it, but make sure you reserve a cup of the pasta water. I usually make this with linguine, but this time I used penne, another of my favorite pasta shapes.
Dump the drained pasta into a large bowl, toss in the bacon and cheese, crack an egg over it all and add a substantial slosh of pasta water. Stir/toss it all together, grind black pepper over it all and mix it up again. That’s it. Bowl it up and head back to the couch to eat this lovely, velvety delight while watching The Daily Show on tivo…well at least that’s what I did.
BTW…if you think that perhaps I made a mistake and left the cream out, you’re wrong. Carbonara doesn’t have cream in it. Also, I think that carbonara has a bad reputation for being heavy and rich. Actually the opposite is true…it’s delicate and light and one egg and 4 ounces of bacon served to 4 people is hardly gluttonous. So don’t shun carbonara….embrace it!
Head over to Accidental Hedonist and check out my chocolate, caramel, toffee tart. I couldn’t have made it without the assistance of my sous chef, Dexter.
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10 Responses to “Pasta carbonara”
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You do exactly what I like to do when I eat pasta—pile it in a bowl & eat with a spoon!
Carbonara is nice and easy and super tasty. You can’t go wrong with bacon, egg yolk, cream and parmesan!
Nice photos Vanessa!
I could definitely embrace this! Looks fantastic!
Is it really safe to eat a raw egg like that? Or does the heat of the pasta cook the egg enough that it’s safe?
JEP, preferably under a blanket!
Kevin…no cream, it doesn’t need it.
holler, thanks!
brilynn, I know you love bacon so this is perfect for you.
Katie, the hot pasta does cook the egg but I’m not afraid to eat raw eggs…I know where my eggs come from and how they’re raised so I don’t worry. Thanks for the comment.
Vanessa, I made this in place of our usual carbonara (Nigella’s recipe). This stuff is fantastic *and* light. Nigella’s recipe uses 4 eggs, heavy cream, and a full 2 cups of pancetta. The best part - I don’t feel like I have to workout an extra 2 hours after eating :)
Vanessa, I had to thank you for this recipe. I haven’t eaten bacon in years, but DH is a fan. Made this, gussied it up a bit by sauteeing some sweet yellow onion with the bacon and added some green beans. It was incredible!
His quote: “My mouth is exploding, with explosions of flavor.” Thanks for a tasty and quick recipe!
Shawnda and Amy, I so glad you enjoyed the carbonara
Shawnda, Nigella is always such a lush…that’s why I love her, but you’re right…who could eat that more than once a year?
Amy, a happy husband is a good thing.
Thanks for the comments you two…you made my day.
Thanks for the recipe! I found my way to your site through googling “crack an egg over pasta”, because I wondered how to do that. I made your carbonara tonight and it was great. :)