Dad’s Book of Awesome Recipe’s Author Shares Flavor
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Pasta alla Carbonara
Difficulty: Medium-hard
Makes: 4 servings
This is one of those warm, comforting foods that could easily work for dinner as well as lunch. It’s simple to make, only has a few ingredients, and—although this may well be sacrilege to say—sort of reminds me of a mac and cheese on yummy steroids. There are a lot of moving parts here— preparing sauce and bacon while water boils and then spaghetti cooks—but each step is relatively easy and is just right for a burgeoning chef to attempt on her own.
Here’s what you need:
Tools
Stove, large pot, large frying pan, knife, cutting board, strainer, stirring spoons, mixing bowl, fork or whisk
Ingredients
8 cups water
Salt
4 strips bacon
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 (1-pound) package spaghetti
2 eggs
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (best you can find)
Pepper, freshly ground
Here’s what you do:
- Heat up salted water in a large pot.
- As the water heats up, chop your bacon into bite-sized pieces and then heat up the large frying pan on medium heat.
- Add a small drizzle of your oil to the pan and then add bacon. Check to see if the water is boiling yet.
- Let bacon get nice and crispy, stirring a few times. Add spaghetti to water and cook for 9–11 minutes, or whatever your package says.
- So now you have the spaghetti boiling and the bacon crisping. It’s time to work on the sauce. You want it to be totally ready to go by the time your spaghetti is done. Timing is key here, as you’ll be cooking the egg with the heat of the spaghetti alone. So, in a mixing bowl, combine 2 eggs and the cheese. Whisk or fork it around until smooth.
- Here’s the fun part. When your spaghetti is done, drain it (reserve a few tablespoons of water in the pot—in other words, don’t dump it all out).
- Now quickly add the spaghetti to the bacon pan and stir it around so the fat coats the noodles.
- Turn off the heat and add your egg and cheese mixture. If you leave the heat on, the egg can scramble. You just want it to cook by the heat of the noodles alone. Stir it around a fair bit.
- Plate your spaghetti and offer a fresh grind of pepper to anyone who wants it. Get ready for a warm, comforting treat.