Spaghetti alla Carbonara

StB – no, she didn’t get to eat with me this time! – sent me a link yesterday telling me that today is the International Day of Italian Cuisines!  According to the link, this is celebrated by making a “traditional” Italian dish (in quotes because as that page tells you in no uncertain terms, it’s not really Italian), spaghetti alla carbonara.  So to celebrate my BF’s return from a long business trip, I made him eat more stuff he’d never eaten before and probably wouldn’t want to eat if he saw me cooking it.  (In fact, he did walk in right before the “scary” step of the recipe, and I tried to distract him so he didn’t see that the egg isn’t actually heated over the fire…)

The recipe I used can be found in the link above, or right here.  Since I’m broke, I used what I had on hand, which happened to be good ol’ American bacon in the freezer, not pancetta or guanciale.  Despite my reading that occasionally the smoky bacon flavor can overwhelm, I think I did a good job: the dish came out creamy (without any milk or cream!), peppery, salty and even a bit sweet all at the same time, with a nice smoky background.  I was really impressed, since I was positive I’d messed up the egg when I noticed parts of it clumping up in teeny little balls- but I felt better when I Wiki’d carbonara and their picture had even bigger egg clumps!  (Click on the picture to really see.. click on it twice to get in even closer!) 

My recipe variations:

6 slices of bacon, cut into 1cm pieces
about a 1/2 lb of spaghetti (no. 5, since that’s what I had on hand; I prefer no. 8)
3 extra large eggs, beaten silky/airy
lots of freshly grated Pecorino Romano (I somehow had a giant hunk that’s gone unused in the fridge!  Feel free to substitute any good, grated Italian hard cheese)
freshly ground black pepper

Cook bacon in large skillet over low heat, allowing fat to render and bacon to get super crispy.

In the meantime, mix the eggs with the cheese and black pepper.  Cook spaghetti to al dente- maybe a minute before you would normally take it off for al dente (you’ll continue cooking it in a minute).  Reserve a cup or so of the cooking water. 

If desired, put oven-safe serving bowls in the oven to warm up.  I kept the oven at 350 and then lowered it to 200, and the bowls stayed very warm for a long time.

After the bacon has crisped up, add the spaghetti and reserved cooking water.  Bring to a gentle simmer until the water is mostly gone and the fat has been absorbed into the spaghetti. 

Move quickly here- take the pan off the heat and slowly pour in the beaten egg mixture.  Stir throughout thoroughly, try to coat every strand of spaghetti with some of the mixture as this forms the “sauce” – it should thicken up and cling to your spaghetti. 

Serve in the pre-warmed bowls and top with more freshly grated cheese and freshly ground black pepper. 

Voila!  So simple, so delicious!  Perfect on a cold winter day for warming you up and just a great, simple meal to eat in front of a movie.  Which is what I did last night, what a great night! 

PS BF ate it and liked it.  I think I liked it more- the combination of salty, creamy, smoky, and peppery was just right for my taste buds- but he definitely enjoyed his bowl!

Happy Eating!!!

Special bonus: I made extra so I could have some in my bento today!  Click the picture for details of what else is in the bento!  🙂