Sunday, February 6, 2011

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Inspiration:
I love, love, love Carbonara. It's one of my comfort foods. Tim isn't a huge fan, so I eat it when he's working late or has other plans. It's so easy to make and perfect for a cold night in.
This recipe is from Tyler Florence.


Ingredients:
  • 1 pound dry spaghetti
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 ounces pancetta or slab bacon, cubed or sliced into small strips
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Instructions:
  1. Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking to ensure that the spaghetti will be hot and ready when the sauce is finished; it is very important that the pasta is hot when adding the egg mixture, so that the heat of the pasta cooks the raw eggs in the sauce.

  2. 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 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water to use in the sauce if you wish.

  3. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium flame. Add the pancetta and saute for about 3 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the fat is rendered. Toss the garlic into the fat and saute for less than 1 minute to soften.

  4. Add the hot, drained spaghetti to the pan and toss for 2 minutes to coat the strands in the bacon fat. 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.


Liz's Rating: 9/10

10 comments:

Carrie said...

I made this once a while ago and we liked it, I need to make it again.

Sarita said...

This looks delish! I'm going to make a miniature of it! Thanks for post, your food is always amazing

Deirdre Reid said...

I love love love spaghetti carbonara and never make it. Why? We're sort of fend for yourself here on Friday nights so I think I will make it then. I bet anything I won't be the only one who eats it! Thanks for sharing.

weezermonkey said...

So simple. So good.

HaveShoesWillTravel said...

Who doesn't like spaghetti carbonara?

Sarah said...

Um holler, and thanks for my dinner this evening! Ryan is out of town and would likely not be all over this dish, so I'll just eat it all :-)

Also, the word verification for this comment is "whomp" - perhaps an ode to my large backside and a sign I shouldn't make carbonara for dinner, but I'll do it anyway!

Macaroni and Cheesecake said...

My mouth is watering! That is comfort in a nutshell! Fabulous!

supama said...

so simple and lovely

buy rift account said...

WoW! Looks great.. gonna try this weekend.=D

24h Betreuung said...

OH my! That looks very luscious.