Spaghetti Carbonara

Kristi and I are trying to eat pasta on Friday nights since we are in the thick of training for our 3rd marathon (Salt Lake on April 16th). Our initial plan was to go to Boston since we qualified for the marathon, but it filled in 8 hours and we missed our chance. :( The Salt Lake Marathon is the same weekend, so we'll be having our own Boston here in Utah. :)

Anyway--I had Kristi's family and a mutual friend's fammily over for dinner last night. I wanted to try a different pasta dish since I've recently made Lasagna and Baked Ziti. My search brought me to Allrecipes where I found this recipe with 709 votes for a 4.5 star rating. Sounded like a lot of people liked it. I made it--it was super easy and fed a crowd easily. Next time I'll use Italian Sausage instead of the bacon, but it was still very good.

On the reviews of the recipe, someone mentioned this would be a good recipe for a brunch. And, even though the sauce is made from eggs--you can't taste them and it's very smooth. I was afraid it would be scrambled eggs and bacon in spaghetti, and it wasn't.

Spaghetti Carbonara II

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook Time: 20 Minutes Ready In: 40 Minutes

Servings: 8

"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. Mix cheese with beaten eggs and add to pasta. 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.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2011 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 3/2/2011


A review from the site said:
It's a great recipe with some modifications. An Italian friend of mine who cooks told me that the proper way to make smooth Carbonara sauce is to combine the beaten eggs with the grated parmesan, and then to pour that mixture onto the spaghetti once the spaghetti has cooled slightly (so that it's still hot, but so that the eggs don't cook and the cheese melts seamlessly into the eggs and pasta). I tried that, and the sauce was unbelievably creamy! A few other changes I made - I used less pasta, pancetta instead of bacon, and grated a brick of fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano for a sharper flavour - so that was about 3 cups of grated cheese instead of 1 cup. The final product was full of flavour and my guests wanted seconds - and no need to add salt. I didn't use wine because I didn't have any at the moment, but next time I will - it will probably add some interesting dimension. Also tips on reheating in microwave - if it's on a high setting, it will cook the egg and the pasta will solidify. I reheat mine on medium heat so the sauce stays creamy.