# Spaghetti Carbonara



## jim t (Sep 30, 2007)

This works GREAT!

I will say that you need to use REAL Parmesan Reggiano cheese and not the cheap stuff you find in a can.

Expensive for sure, but it goes a long way.

I CANNOT overemphasize this, the REAL Parmesan Reggiano is WORTH the cost. Everything else is pretty cheap.

This is the closest I've found to the real deal in Italy.

QUICK and easy.

I use bacon instead of pancetta. Pancetta is mo' better but bacon works great. DO NOT drain the bacon grease before you add the pasta. The pasta will absorb it all. 

That;s why you reserve some pasta water, you might want even a little more liquid.

Take the pan off the heat before you add the egg/cheese mix. Otherwise the egg will "scramble" quickly.



Spaghetti alla Carbonara


Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence


Ingredients

1 pound dry spaghetti
2 tablespoons extravirgin
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 ParmigianoReggiano,
plus more for serving
Freshly ground black pepper
1 handful fresh flatleaf
parsley, chopped


Directions

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.
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.
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.
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.

Jim


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## jim t (Sep 30, 2007)

Should add, MORE bacon is better than less, MORE Parmesan Reggiano is better than less. I normally don't add any pasta water by the way.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Jim


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