So, I was wandering the web looking for delicious polenta recipes and stumbled across a video for spaghetti carbonara. You can see the video here. It involves bacon. Needless to say, my polenta plans were a little derailed, but they will be back on track soon! In the meantime, allrecipes provided the following delicious dinner for myself and mia famiglia. It claims to serve 8, but I would say it’s closer to 6 hearty portions. And I borrowed a tip from the video recipe to reserve some of the pasta water for the sauce. Unfortunately, I was too cautious and would make sure to reserve at least 2 cups of pasta water for saucy carbonara next time. The following is the recipe:
“Crispy bacon and sauteed onions and garlic are tossed with cooked spaghetti, beaten eggs and a generous measure of Parmesan cheese. The heat from the pan and the hot pasta will cook the eggs and melt the cheese. Garnish with parsley and extra cheese.”
INGREDIENTS:
1 pound spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 slices bacon, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine (optional)
4 eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pinch salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti pasta until al dente. Drain well. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and set aside.
2. Meanwhile in a large skillet, cook chopped bacon until slightly crisp; remove and drain onto paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon fat; add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and heat in reused large skillet. Add chopped onion, and cook over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add minced garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add wine if desired; cook one more minute.
3. Return cooked bacon to pan; add cooked and drained spaghetti. Toss to coat and heat through, adding more olive oil if it seems dry or is sticking together. Add beaten eggs and cook, tossing constantly with tongs or large fork until eggs are barely set. Quickly add 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and toss again. Add salt and pepper to taste (remember that bacon and Parmesan are very salty).
4. Serve immediately with chopped parsley sprinkled on top, and extra Parmesan cheese at table.
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FUN FACT: According to the video, the carbonara part of the recipe comes from the black pepper and the fact that this recipe was originally served to coal miners.
It was delicious, and quite pretty after G added peas.
Enjoy!
-Elizabeth