Spaghetti Carbonara

For such a simple concoction, spaghetti carbonara sure causes a lot of controversy. The basic dish contains pasta, eggs, cheese and bacon. The controversy comes from the variations. Should you use bacon? pancetta? guanciale? Is cream allowed? How about vegetables? Is any other type of pasta allowed? It’s enough to make your head twirl like pasta on a fork. It’s safe to say that what many US restaurants call carbonara looks very different from what you would buy in Italy.

This recipe is very basic, but if you decide to add a little cream, or some onions (like Lidia Bastianich does in this recipe) or some fresh spinach I’m not going to be scandalized. There’s no judging in Lydia’s Flexitarian Kitchen.

I used thick cut bacon to make my carbonara. It’s bacon week after all, plus pancetta and guanciale are difficult to find in my area even in the best local store. I have to order it online or travel to Annapolis like we do for chorizo. I hadn’t paid attention until I had to buy a couple packages, but have you noticed some manufacturers are selling 12 ounce packages of bacon? It strikes me a vaguely criminal, like a not-quite half gallon of ice cream. Outrageous. Anyway, if you have pancetta or guanciale use it and enjoy. Whichever you choose, cut it into a nice dice about 1/4 inch wide.

For pasta, use whatever you have on hand. I’ve seen recipes using spaghetti, linguine and penne. Gluten-free and whole wheat pastas can also be used.

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces thick cut bacon (half the package), diced
• 1 pound dry spaghetti
• 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 egg yolks
• salt and pepper

Method:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti.
2. While the spaghetti is cooking, drizzle some olive oil and cook the diced bacon in your largest skillet until the color changes and most of the fat is rendered. The bacon should still be a little chewy instead of crispy. This takes about 8 minutes or so.
3. You’ll only need 3 or 4 tablespoons of rendered bacon fat. Pour off any excess or add a little olive oil if your bacon is really lean. It’s not an exact science.
4. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the garlic, if using. Be careful not to let it burn. Burnt garlic is not pleasant to eat and will turn your lovely bacon fat bitter.
5. Reserve a couple cups of pasta water when the spaghetti is ready. This is very important as it’s needed to help make the sauce. Use a pair of tongs to add the cooked spaghetti to the bacon and drippings in the skillet. Don’t worry about draining it too much, but be prepared for a sizzle. Mix well. You want every strand of spaghetti to be covered with drippings and the bacon bits should be well distributed. (Alternately, if your skillet isn’t large enough to hold all the spaghetti, drain the spaghetti making sure to reserve a couple cups of pasta water, and return it to the pan. Pour the bacon and drippings over top of the spaghetti and mix.)
6. Remove the pan from the heat.
7. Now comes the tricky part. The idea is to mix the egg yolks with the hot spaghetti in such a way that they don’t scramble but instead make a creamy sauce. Beat the egg yolks with a fork and slowly add some pasta water to them while continuing to beat. You want to warm the yolks.
8. Next, slowly add the sauce to the noodles, mixing well as you go. Use some of the reserved pasta water to increase the volume of the sauce (don’t dump the pasta water yet, save it to drizzle over any leftovers before storing in the fridge).
9. Now add copious amounts of parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper. Serve in bowls and offer more cheese and pepper at the table.
10. Don’t fret if you get a little scramble. It still tastes good and the cheese helps to hide it. I know this from experience 🙂

Have you had spaghetti carbonara prepared this way or have you made it yourself?