Spaghetti Carbonara

This is an incredibly easy dish to prepare, delicious to boot! I want you to be comfortable with it, though. There are 3 key players, spaghetti–or any noodle pasta you like–pancetta (Italian bacon) and eggs, make sure your eggs are fresh. That’s it, really.

I made a few changes to a basic recipe by Ruth Reichl and only because I’m honery that way. Also because I love bacon with onions. And onions with pasta. And eggs with onions. And pasta with eggs. You get my drift. I didn’t have pancetta, so I used bacon, not that there’s anything wrong with either one. Also, when I was at the store they had that beautiful black peppered bacon, so I went halfzies.

Here’s what I’ll tell you ahead of time:

• Cube the bacon/pancetta
• Leave your eggs out so they’re room temperature
• Use a big mixing bowl to put it all together and fill it with warm water until it’s time to toss the pasta in

Spaghetti Carbonara

1 pound spaghetti
8 strips thick bacon, finely cubed
8 strips thick black pepper bacon, finely cubed
2 cloves garlic, peeled and bruised
1 small onion, finely diced
2 large eggs
Fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano cheese, approx
1/4 cp Italian parsley, finely chopped

Put the bacon into a skillet over medium heat and cook for a few minutes to render its fat. While it’s cooking add the onions and garlic, cook about 5 minutes until the onions are translucent and melting away. While the bacon and onions are cooking, fill a large pot of water to cook the pasta. Bring it to a boil and add salt once it does. Add the pasta and give it a stir to keep it from sticking.

Note: the bacon will not be crisp, which is ideal when you toss it with the pasta and eggs.

Dump the water out of the serving bowl, break and whisk the eggs. Grind some black pepper and whisk. By now the bacon and onions should be ready, keep it warm until the pasta is cooked. Don’t discard all the pasta water when you drain the noodles. As a matter of fact, I pulled the spaghetti straight out of the pot and into the eggy bowl. That way, I pulled in a bit of the pasta water to aid in making the sauce.

The pasta is so hot that it will cook the eggs almost on contact, so make sure to toss and incorporate the two every time you add pasta. Once all the spaghetti is in, add the bacon onion mixture (fat and all), parsley and about 1/4 cp of Parmesan. Add more pasta water as needed, just enough to make the dish moist.

That’s it. Serve immediately with additional cheese to taste.

Cookingly yours,
Anamaris