Spaghetti Carbonara
With the winter fast approaching we all need a bowl of comfort food. This is a lovely Italian classic, rich and creamy, without the heavy cream. The sauce is emulsified from the starchy pasta water with egg & cheese, making it must less heavy than the cream laden dish served up in many restaurants. This is pretty close to an “authentic” Italian carbonara.
I find it pretty difficult to get pancetta where I live, so I substituted it for some bacon lardons. I also used linguine in this dish as I didn’t have spaghetti to hand. I like the thickness of the linguine and actually think it makes a great substitute. The key to this dish is seasoning, as there are so few ingredients so remember lots of black pepper, plenty of salt in your pasta water and generous amount of cheese as these are what lend flavour to the dish. I hope you enjoy!
Ingredients
Serves 2 (Calories per serving 450)75g pancetta (or bacon lardons)
3 egg yolks + 1 whole egg
50-60g of parmesan cheese / pecorino (grated)
Black pepper (to taste)
Salt
200g spaghetti/linguine
Method
Salt your boiling water for the pasta and cook according to packet instructions once water is boiling.
In a bowl whisk together the eggs, pepper & a handful of grated cheese (about 25-30g)
On a low heat fry your pancetta in no oil (bacon will release its own fat) until desired crispiness.
Once bacon is getting crispy add a little of the starchy pasta water (I fill up a mug and gradually add bit by bit, you are better to add little at a time than too much).
Take your pasta out of the boiling water 1 minute before packet instructions so that it will have a nice bite. Add to the bacon and add a little more of your mug of pasta water. Stir for about a minute until the water is at a thicker consistency and starting to coat the pasta.
Take off the heat and add the egg mixture. (Very important to take it off the heat or else you will end up with a scrambled egg sauce, which is not a good look!). Keep stirring until you have a nice creamy sauce on your spaghetti and add a little more pasta water (if necessary) until you have a silky coating on your spaghetti. Add some more cheese at this point.
Once you have the desired texture, serve immediately into bowls and sprinkle with the final amount of grated cheese.
