Pasta Carbonara

Hi guys!

As I said in earlier blogs, I want to introduce you to some of my all-time favorites besides recipes I am trying every day. Spaghetti or Pasta Carbonara is one of those recipes. My mum has been making it ever since I can remember and I have been loving it for the same time. At university, my friends and I have been discussing this recipe, because in Switzerland they use a lot of cream in the sauce so I consider their "Carbonara" sauce more of a cream-sauce with added ham. One of my best friends is Italian so I asked her and she told me my mum's version was the original, the "right" way to do it. The original Italian Carbonara sauce is egg yolks mixed with a little cream, freshly ground black pepper and parmesan. You combine it with cooked pasta and cubed bacon.

Here's the recipe:

320g pasta
4 egg yolks
200ml (1 cup 80% filled) single pouring cream
freshly ground black pepper
60g parmesan, grated
400g bacon

1) Heat a large pot of salted water over high heat. Cut the bacon into small cubes, about 1/4inch wide. Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat and cook the bacon in it, stirring every now and then until the fat comes out and the bacon turns crisp. Drain on kitchen paper. 

2) Cook the pasta in boiling water according to package directions. Grate the parmesan. 

3) Combine the egg yolks with the cream and add the grated parmesan. Stir to combine. Season with black pepper. 

4) Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Let it sit for about a minute until it has cooled a little. Stir in the sauce and add the bacon. Serve with extra parmesan and more freshly ground black pepper if you like.

Serves: 4
Active preparation time: 10 minutes
Total preparation time: 15 minutes

Here's how mine turned out:

Tips and tricks:
Pasta carbonara is a really easy dish once you know how to do it. It can be a little difficult at first though, because you might end up with pasta with scrambled egg. It is crucial that your pasta cools about a minute before you add the sauce. If you would stir the sauce through boiling hot pasta right away, the egg yolk in the sauce clots and you'll have scrambled eggs instead of a creamy sauce coating the pasta. But this is really as far as the magic goes. 

I love this recipe because it is so simple and comforting. It takes the time the pasta cooks to prepare and assemble the sauce. The sauce is wonderfully creamy and coating the pasta - there shouldn't be any excess while the pepper livens things up and the bacon adds crunchiness and a nice salty flavor.

Have fun trying!