Carbonara
When I was a kid my dad was in the military. We moved around a few times and were lucky enough to be stationed at Aviano AFB in Italy. My parents did their best to introduce us to the culture by taking us to Italian restaurants or going out and seeing all the beautiful sites. We didn't live on the base but in a small town about 30 minutes away. It was quiet and beautiful and I hope to some day get to visit again. While we were there my mother learned to cook a few of the traditional dishes, one of them was carbonara. She was taught how to make it at a church activity from a little old Italian lady. Carbonara is a simple peasant dish. It has very basic ingredients that most Italians always have on hand, pasta, eggs, cream and Parmesan. My mom taught me how to make it as a teenager and over the years I have done lots of experimenting with it. I have tried different meats and different methods of cooking the noodles and incorporating the ingredients at different times. I think I have finally perfected it. It's not really far off from how my mother learned it. I wanted it to stay traditional and always remind me of those memories from my childhood.
This is one of those dishes that doesn't really have a recipe. It's more about the method and adding or subtracting the amount of ingredients based on how many people you are feeding. I will do my best though to explain how to make it and give you as accurate of measurements as I can but when recipes are this rustic and old it's kind of hard. Its more about a splash of this and a handful of that. The good thing is that no matter what it will be delicious because its to simple not to be.
In a large pan or dutch oven brown bacon that has been cut into pieces. I have tried salted pork and chicken but I like bacon the best particularly thick cut bacon.
Once the bacon is brown and slightly crisp remove and drain the oil by placing on a paper towel on a plate or a bowl and set aside.
Drain all but about two tablespoons of the oil from the pan, don't worry about all the brown yummy bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. That is what is going to add flavor to the noodles. Add about 4 to 4 1/2 cups of water to the pan slowly. Use a wooden spoon to help scrape up all the bacon remnants off of the pan. Once the water is boiling add your pasta.
It may not seem like very much water but you only need enough to cover the noodles. You want the noodles to be nice and starchy and if you cook it in to much water you will have to drain it and all that starch and flavoring from the bacon gets drained out. If it seems like the noodles aren't cooking or the water is evaporating to quickly add about 1/3 cup of hot water at a time. The point is for the water to cook off and your end result to be only a 1/2 cup of water or less remaining in the pan once the noodles are cooked through.
While your noodles are cooking crack 3-4 eggs in a bowl. Add some salt and pepper and a few tablespoons of cream. Stir it with a fork just to break up the yolk and get things mostly combined.
Once your noodles are cooked and there is only a small amount of water remaining in the pan turn off the heat. Add your egg mixture to the noodles and start stirring, I use a pasta scoop and stir by lifting and tossing the noodles. The heat from the pan and the noodles will cook the eggs but you don't want them to look scrambled so thats why you turn off the heat. Once thats stirred in add a few more tablespoons of cream and your parmesan.
These tubs are perfect plus its already grated so its less work for you. I like to reserve a little to add on top on my plate.
It may look like a lot of cheese but its really not. The pasta should be coated with the sauce and not look dry. If necessary add more cream. Finally add your bacon. Make sure you taste it before serving. This is a pasta dish that often needs a good amount of salt even though there are salty ingredients like bacon and parmesan. It should look like this..
I can chow down on a big bowl of this but I chose to be a little healthier and eat less of the pasta by serving it with some chicken. Bread of course is also a great side dish for this. If you have left overs the next day and it seems kind of dry just add a little bit more cream to help loosen it up.
I hope you enjoy this pasta dish as much as I do. Remember that its deliciousness is in its simplicity. Now close your eyes and pretend you are in a beautiful village in Italy. Mangia! Mangia!
Carbonara
3/4 lb long noodles (I like vermicelli)
6-8 Slices of Thick cut Bacon (I'm not shy and like a lot)
3 eggs
1/4 - 1/3 cup of cream
5 oz Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper
In a large pot cook bacon until brown and slightly crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Remove all but about 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease from the pot. Add approximately 4 cups of water to the pot and stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up the bacon bits from the bottom of the pot. Once the water is boiling add your noodles, the water should just barely cover them. If needed add 1/2 cup of hot water at a time. The noodles should absorb the water and you should be left with only a small amount of water left in the pot once they are cooked.
In the mean time crack your eggs into a bowl. Add about 3 tablespoons of cream and a dash of salt and pepper. Stir with a fork to break up the yolk and combine with cream. Once the noodles are al dente turn off the heat. (if there is to much water left in the pan use a spoon or measuring cup to remove the excess. You should only have about a 1/4 - 1/3 cup of water remaining in the pot with the noodles). Add your egg mixture and stir to combine. Toss in cheese and 3 to 4 more tablespoons of cream. The noodles should be coated and not dry. Add bacon and more salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. Garnish with more Parmesan
yields: approx 4 servings
TIPS:
* If you have left overs the next day and it seems dry add a splash of cream.
* This dish is easy to make more or less of. My mom was taught that you use about 1 egg per serving. So if you use a whole box of noodles and intend to feed more like 4 or 5 people use 4 or 5 eggs. Add an extra few tablespoons of cream and of course more cheese and bacon. You can never have to much cheese or bacon so no worries there. If you want to make it just for two use half a box and two eggs and a total of about 4 tablespoons of cream.
* If you don't want to cook the noodles in the bacon grease and just want to cook them like normal that is totally fine and is how my mom was taught. Just do everything the same but drain your noodles and return them to the pan. Then add your egg mixture, cream and cheese. IF you want you can add a splash of the bacon grease for more flavor. I just found that cooking the noodles in the same pan as the bacon infused the noodles with more flavor and using less water makes the pasta more starchy therefor making the sauce stick better and thicker.
Try adding/substituting
half/half
cooked mushrooms
pinch of red chili flakes
green onions or parsley (as a garnish)
salted pork
panchetta
seasoned cooked chicken
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