Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

Incredible! As soon as I published the recipe of the 'Amatriciana', millions of readers asked me to post another one of my favorites! Here is the one for 'Spaghetti Alla Carbonara'!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound dry spaghetti (Barilla or De Cecco)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 ounces pancetta or slab bacon sliced into small strips
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for serving
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 
  
• Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender yet firm (as they say in Italian "al dente.") Drain the pasta well, reserving 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water to use in the sauce if you wish.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium flame. Add the pancetta and saute for about 3 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the fat is rendered.  

Add the hot, drained spaghetti to the pan and toss for 2 minutes to coat the strands in the bacon fat. Beat the eggs and Parmesan together in a mixing bowl, stirring well to prevent lumps. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the egg/cheese mixture into the pasta, whisking quickly until the eggs thicken, but do not scramble (this is done off the heat to ensure this does not happen.) Thin out the sauce with a bit of the reserved pasta water if necessary, until it reaches the desired consistency. Season the carbonara with freshly ground black pepper and taste for salt. Mound the spaghetti carbonara into warm serving bowls and pass more cheese around the table. 

Buon Appetito and.... while cooking, don't answer the phone!

My Favorite Recipe

Some of my readers asked me about my favorite recipe and so I decided to take a break from 'traveling' and sit at my table to eat my favorite pasta dish:

Bucatini all’Amatriciana

This typically Roman pasta dish was traditionally made with guanciale, but since that ingredient used to be very hard to find outside of Italy, and the Lazio region in particular, pancetta has become a common substitute. Guanciale can now be found at certain specialty food stores here in America. While you can still make a great Amatriciana with pancetta, if you are able to find guanciale, you should try using it at least once. Made from cured pork jowl, guanciale is softer and has a higher ratio of fat than pancetta, resulting in a richer sauce. That being said, with either ingredient it is still my favorite pasta dish. Actually, I sometimes use Pork & Bacon Ends & Pieces that I buy at the local Ranch Direct store where I live. It is lightly smoked and gives the sauce a very unique flavor. So no need to get too caught up in being “traditional”.

Prep time: 10 min | Cook time: 40 min | Total time: 50 min

Serves 4

2 tblsp of olive oil
1/4 of a pound pancetta or guanciale, chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1 28 oz can of imported Italian tomatoes
salt to taste
1 pound of Bucatini pasta (I suggest De Cecco if available in your area)
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1.      Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add the pancetta or guanciale and cook, stirring often, until goldenbrown, about 10 minutes. Add the onion and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute until garlic is golden, about 1 minute longer.

2.      Crush tomatoes and add with juices to pan. Add salt pepper and a little water. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, about 15 to 20 minutes.

3.      While the sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and the bucatini. Cook uncovered over high heat until al dente.

4.      Drain the pasta, then add the pasta and 1/4 cup of the Pecorino Pomano to the sauce in the saucepan and toss well. Transfer to warm serving plates and serve immediately, with the remaining Pecorino Romano on the side.

Let me know what you think. Buon Appetito!