Pasta Carbonara

Giorgio Celmo

Every chef has their own particular way of serving this dish, but this is my own preference. This dish is so simple to prepare with great basic ingredients, bacon, egg and cream, yum! Of course, you do not have to use spaghetti.

You can use penne, fettuccine or linguine, whichever you prefer. For this dish I prefer dried pasta rather than fresh, the sauce is rich enough without more eggs.

Pasta Carbonara needs to be served hot, freshly cooked, it does not sit well, so make sure you are ready to serve this one immediately. This recipe takes no more than 20 minutes from start to finish. Can serve four.

Ingredients:

Olive oil

1lb spaghetti

½ lb chopped bacon

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 pint cream

4 table spoons Parmesan cheese, grated

4 fresh large eggs

1 large bottle of wine

Directions

First open the wine, pour and sip. The pasta should be cooked at the same time as the sauce, and takes about the same length of time. You don’t want the sauce or the pasta sitting too long before serving.

Place the pasta in a large pot of boiling water and cook for 8-10 minutes depending on the pasta. Check the cooking instructions on the carton you are using.

At the same time, put 2 table spoons of olive oil in a sauce pan over a medium heat. Add the crushed garlic and bacon. Cook until the bacon is going brown. Add the cream and bring to a boil. Add the parmesan and simmer until the pasta is ready. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Break the eggs and discard the whites, keeping a piece of the shell to hold the yokes. You can use an egg separator, but just breaking the egg in half and pouring the contents back and forth between the two halves until the white is gone works just as well.

When the pasta is cooked, drain in a colander, return to the pan and add the sauce, stirring to cover the pasta. Divide between four plates and serve with an egg yolk sitting in the shell in the middle and a sprig of fresh basil. Serve immediately with parmesan cheese and black pepper on the side. When the pasta is served, let your family turn the egg over into their plate and stir into the pasta. Don’t worry; the egg will cook from the heat of the sauce and pasta. This adds a very rich taste to the dish and looks great. There are loads of ways to do this recipe. You can use pancetta or prosciutto instead of bacon. Throw in a chopped onion with the bacon if you like. It’s a great recipe to have fun with.