Pasta
Bacon
Cream
Cheese
Eggs
What’s not to like about those 5 ingredients besides the fact that if you indulge in any one too much, your hips would double in size? Other than that small minor detail, just the mere thought of all those ingredients in one dish makes my heart swoon.
I set out to make some spaghetti carbonara. I had seen a lot of carbonara recipes floating around recently and every magazine I subscribe too seems to have at least one recipe for it lately. I looked around at a dozen or so recipes from sources I trust and found that no one makes carbonara the same way. There are a thousand different variations of it out there. Some with pancetta instead of bacon, some made with no cream, some with half & half, some include garlic, some don’t. When it comes to recipes like this one, I think you just kind of find the right combination of ingredients and flavors and just make it your own.
You think a nice Italian girl like me would have been making carbonara for years and years right? Nope. Can’t say that I have. Can’t even remember if my Nonna did either.
This is my version. It’s quick and easy. This is the way my family likes it. Well, let me make one correction, if my husband had his way, there would be 3 pounds of bacon in it.
Spaghetti Carbonara
Printable Recipe
1 pound of spaghetti or bucatini
10 slices of bacon
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup Parmesan cheese
5 large egg yolks
Salt & pepper
Additional grated cheese for serving
Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until the bacon is brown and crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain on paper towels. Leave the drippings in the pan. Once the bacon is cool enough to handle, break it into pieces.
Whisk the cream, the cheese and the egg yolks in a medium bowl to blend. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of the drippings from the skillet. Set the cream mixture aside and discard the remaining drippings.
Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente. Please don’t over cook your pasta. Mushy pasta is just nasty. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add the cream mixture to the pasta. Toss over medium-low heat until the sauce cooks through and coats the pasta (about 4 – 5 minutes). Mix in the bacon. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with additional grated cheese.
Bacon
Cream
Cheese
Eggs
What’s not to like about those 5 ingredients besides the fact that if you indulge in any one too much, your hips would double in size? Other than that small minor detail, just the mere thought of all those ingredients in one dish makes my heart swoon.
I set out to make some spaghetti carbonara. I had seen a lot of carbonara recipes floating around recently and every magazine I subscribe too seems to have at least one recipe for it lately. I looked around at a dozen or so recipes from sources I trust and found that no one makes carbonara the same way. There are a thousand different variations of it out there. Some with pancetta instead of bacon, some made with no cream, some with half & half, some include garlic, some don’t. When it comes to recipes like this one, I think you just kind of find the right combination of ingredients and flavors and just make it your own.
You think a nice Italian girl like me would have been making carbonara for years and years right? Nope. Can’t say that I have. Can’t even remember if my Nonna did either.
This is my version. It’s quick and easy. This is the way my family likes it. Well, let me make one correction, if my husband had his way, there would be 3 pounds of bacon in it.
Spaghetti Carbonara
Printable Recipe
1 pound of spaghetti or bucatini
10 slices of bacon
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup Parmesan cheese
5 large egg yolks
Salt & pepper
Additional grated cheese for serving
Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until the bacon is brown and crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain on paper towels. Leave the drippings in the pan. Once the bacon is cool enough to handle, break it into pieces.
Whisk the cream, the cheese and the egg yolks in a medium bowl to blend. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of the drippings from the skillet. Set the cream mixture aside and discard the remaining drippings.
Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente. Please don’t over cook your pasta. Mushy pasta is just nasty. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add the cream mixture to the pasta. Toss over medium-low heat until the sauce cooks through and coats the pasta (about 4 – 5 minutes). Mix in the bacon. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with additional grated cheese.
4 comments:
A classic. Love it. I just wish it didn't have any calories in it!
One of my favorites as well. And for me also, this was the recipe that made me realize I needed to just forget all the other versions out there and just make it how I wanted to make it. Creamy and bacony. :)
Simple, Classic & Gorgeous! I really like the contrast in your presentation. It's so delicious! I have this habit when I 'attacked' classics such as Spaghetti Carbonara, I prefer calm, simple decoration (rustic the best) and wonderful family and friends around. Ends with fabulous dessert and quality coffee or tea.
Ghenne,
Just wanted to say Thanks. I made this recipe for dinner last night, and it was the first real meal I've cooked since my husband deployed on Monday. I made one mistake - used 5 whole eggs, but it didn't seem to hurt it, just made it saucier. Very creamy, excellent salt balance and great pasta to bacon ratio.
It received a lot of raves. My Dad's partner fills in in the kitchen at a B&B about once a month and says he wants to try it there some weekend.
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