My favorite pasta recipe doesn’t really need it, and it’s the out one I had leftovers from before my wife and I started dating (a standard recipe makes 4 servings and I will not adjust the quantities. I’ll just eat leftovers) so I never really had reason to learn or develop my own method.
here's the pasta carbonara recipe, with assorted notes
Makes 3-4 servings
Ingredients:
? Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
? 1 pound pasta, such as spaghetti, linguine or bucatini (note to self, try bucatini next time you cook this)
? 1/4 cup olive oil
? 1/4 pound guanciale if you can find it, pancetta if you can’t (or in a pinch, bacon), chopped (thanks @Axolotl for the reminder about guanciale!)
? 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
? 5-6 cloves garlic, chopped (1 T minced if lazy like me. I like to use multiple garlics (dried and minced, for example) in my signature pasta sauce, but your goal is to sauté, not burn, the garlic)
? 1/2 cup dry white wine (if needing to skip alcohol, use water. Broth changes the flavor and most store bought grape juice is too sweet)
? 3 large egg yolks (I remember doing this with 2. Or 1. I’m not getting up to check my actual recipe. I just copied the one I used before I adjusted it.)
? Freshly grated Romano cheese
? A handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped, for garnish (if using dried, just sprinkle a little on)
Special equipment:
? A wide, shallow pan. Mine is 14 inches diameter, three inches tall. And doesn’t fit in the dishwasher. A second, similar sized pan with make boiling the pasta easier, but is not necessary.
Directions:
Prepare your mise en place. This recipe has a lot of moving parts at the same time and it’s easier to cook with two. Which makes it a great date night dinner. You want the pasta done at the same time the bacon/pepper/garlic is done sauteeing. When you’ve got the recipe down, after the mise en place and water is boiling it should take around ten minutes.
Put a large saucepot of salted water on to boil. Add the pasta. Cook to al dente, about 8 minutes.
Assuming you’re cooking the pasta 8 minutes, start this cooking the pancetta 2 minutes into the pasta boiling. Don’t burn it, you will know the pan is ready when the pancetta sizzles lightly. It takes 5-6 minutes once the pancetta is in. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil (enough to coat bottom of the pan) and pancetta. Brown the pancetta for 2 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes more. Deglaze with wine and stir up all the pan drippings.
About halfway through boiling the pasta, temper the eggs: In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks, then add 1 large ladleful (about 1/2 cup) of the starchy cooking water. This tempers the eggs and keeps them from scrambling when added to the pasta.
Drain the pasta well and add it directly to the skillet with pancetta and oil. Begin tossing/flipping the pasta (to coat it first in oil). Slowly pour the egg mixture over the pasta. Toss rapidly to coat the pasta without cooking the egg. Remove the pan from the heat and add a big handful of cheese, lots of black or white pepper (really wherever your mood takes you) and a little salt. Continue to toss and turn the pasta until it soaks up the egg mixture and thickens, 1-2 minutes. Garnish with parsley and extra grated Romano.
My wife taught me the same method.
My favorite pasta recipe doesn’t really need it, and it’s the out one I had leftovers from before my wife and I started dating (a standard recipe makes 4 servings and I will not adjust the quantities. I’ll just eat leftovers) so I never really had reason to learn or develop my own method.
here's the pasta carbonara recipe, with assorted notes
Makes 3-4 servings
Ingredients:
? Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
? 1 pound pasta, such as spaghetti, linguine or bucatini (note to self, try bucatini next time you cook this)
? 1/4 cup olive oil
? 1/4 pound guanciale if you can find it, pancetta if you can’t (or in a pinch, bacon), chopped (thanks @Axolotl for the reminder about guanciale!)
? 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
? 5-6 cloves garlic, chopped (1 T minced if lazy like me. I like to use multiple garlics (dried and minced, for example) in my signature pasta sauce, but your goal is to sauté, not burn, the garlic)
? 1/2 cup dry white wine (if needing to skip alcohol, use water. Broth changes the flavor and most store bought grape juice is too sweet)
? 3 large egg yolks (I remember doing this with 2. Or 1. I’m not getting up to check my actual recipe. I just copied the one I used before I adjusted it.)
? Freshly grated Romano cheese
? A handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped, for garnish (if using dried, just sprinkle a little on)
Special equipment:
? A wide, shallow pan. Mine is 14 inches diameter, three inches tall. And doesn’t fit in the dishwasher. A second, similar sized pan with make boiling the pasta easier, but is not necessary.
Directions:
Prepare your mise en place. This recipe has a lot of moving parts at the same time and it’s easier to cook with two. Which makes it a great date night dinner. You want the pasta done at the same time the bacon/pepper/garlic is done sauteeing. When you’ve got the recipe down, after the mise en place and water is boiling it should take around ten minutes.
Put a large saucepot of salted water on to boil. Add the pasta. Cook to al dente, about 8 minutes.
Assuming you’re cooking the pasta 8 minutes, start this cooking the pancetta 2 minutes into the pasta boiling. Don’t burn it, you will know the pan is ready when the pancetta sizzles lightly. It takes 5-6 minutes once the pancetta is in. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil (enough to coat bottom of the pan) and pancetta. Brown the pancetta for 2 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes more. Deglaze with wine and stir up all the pan drippings.
About halfway through boiling the pasta, temper the eggs: In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks, then add 1 large ladleful (about 1/2 cup) of the starchy cooking water. This tempers the eggs and keeps them from scrambling when added to the pasta.
Drain the pasta well and add it directly to the skillet with pancetta and oil. Begin tossing/flipping the pasta (to coat it first in oil). Slowly pour the egg mixture over the pasta. Toss rapidly to coat the pasta without cooking the egg. Remove the pan from the heat and add a big handful of cheese, lots of black or white pepper (really wherever your mood takes you) and a little salt. Continue to toss and turn the pasta until it soaks up the egg mixture and thickens, 1-2 minutes. Garnish with parsley and extra grated Romano.
Eat directly out of the pan.
You should use guanciale instead of pancetta but if they don’t sell it where ya live, good enough
you know the last time i looked, i couldn’t find it. but i didn’t know my italian deli back then. thank you for the reminder!