Thursday, October 18, 2012

Spaghetti alla carbonara


Pasta is my comfort food.  It makes me happy when I'm feeling sad, calm when I'm feeling stressed, and always hits the spot when I'm meandering through the fridge searching for that late night snack. Hot, cold, or 2 days old - the stuff never tastes bad!  One of my all-time favourites since I was little has been 'spaghetti all carbonara'. Eggs and bacon, in pasta. It's like breakfast pasta (if something exists that's more exciting than this, absolutely let me know). I've been trying to find the perfect recipe and I think Nigella Lawson has really brought out a winner.  She manages a perfect balance between English and Italian cuisine - parmesan cheese and pancetta paired with whole eggs and a little bit of cream. You can find the full recipe here, its from her cookbook "Feast". (Which, by the way, is pretty damn amazing if you are struggling with an upcoming dinner event). 

What you need

  • 500 g spaghetti
  • 275 g pancetta
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 60 ml white wine (dry)
  • 4 medium eggs
  • 50 g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 60 ml double cream (I used half and half)
  • 1 sprinkle of nutmeg
Fresh pancetta, with the rind off.
Dice the pancetta into small cubes.
Using a pan that will fit the pasta later, cook the pancetta on low heat with a bit of minced garlic.
Cook until the pancetta is crispy, not crunchy.
Add the wine, let it bubble away the alcohol for a few minutes, then take the pan off the heat.
Mix eggs, cream, cheese, and pepper in a bowl. don't overbeat the eggs - just lightly stir them.
Cook the pasta al dente. Remove about 1 cup of pasta water. Put the other pan, the one with the pancetta, on the heat and add the drained pasta, tossing well to coat with the syrupy bacon mixture. Add some of the pasta water to lubricate if needed.
Take the pan off the heat (again), and ad the eggs and cheese mixture, tossing everything to mix. Grind over some pepper, grate over some nutmeg, and dig in.
What's your favourite pasta? If you don't have one....eat more pasta.

Happy Thursday!

A.C

1 comment:

  1. CARB-onara pasta is my fave.. it is delish!! I love my recipe but I may try this one out! make this for meee haha

    ReplyDelete

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