Spaghetti Carbonara
Right off the bat I'm just going to say I've never had "authentic" carbonara from Italy and I apologise if this offends purists. This is how I make carbonara. I will say one thing: Good carbonara doesn't use cream, if you're following a carbonara recipe and see cream, turn around.
Ingredients
- 360g spaghetti (roughly 90g per portion and this makes 4)
- ~200g streaky bacon, or pancetta lardons. Streaky bacon is often cheaper here so that's what I get
- 2 tbsp oil
- 3-6 garlic cloves, depending on how much you love garlic
- 3 eggs
- 75g freshly grated parmesan cheese. Do not get pre-grated! It's usually coated in a powder to prevent clumping, and the same powder will ruin our sauce.
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Optional: Frozen peas (Just trying to add some veg, don't hurt me)
Steps
Cut your bacon into cubes if that is what you are using. Crack the three eggs into a large bowl (large enough to hold all the pasta once cooked) and beat them. Grate the cheese if you haven't already, then add it to the bowl and mix thoroughly. You should end up with a creamy cheese sauce.
Fill a saucepan with water and bring to bowl. Add a handful of salt, then add your pasta and cook following packaging instructions, but usually around 10-15 minutes.
Optional step: If you're using frozen peas then I throw them into the pasta pot for the last minute to cook them through.
Drain off the pasta, then add it to the bowl. Mix like your life depends on it, then finish off with a little salt and pepper to taste.
If you're like me you might be worried about the egg - We didn't cook it! Don't worry, the heat from the spaghetti will cook the egg enough. If you're really really worried, throw the whole mixture back into the pot and cook for a minute or two. Don't overcook it though or your lovely sauce will get gross and gunky.