Jay's Carbonara
Can be quick and easy or patient and luxurious. A famously adaptable dish.
Equipment
- large pot to cook spaghetti
- large skillet choose a tough one so you can stir and combine ingredients vigorously without scratching to pan
Ingredients
- 1 fistful pasta
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup shredded parmesean cheese
- 1 pkg pancetta
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Make two whiskey sours - save the egg yolks.
- Cook the pasta. I prefer spaghetti but fettuccini works well, too.
- In a sturdy pan large enough to hold the entire dish, fry up your meat. Once finished chop it up to be added later.
- While pasta and meat are cooking, whisk together Parmesan, pepper, 2 egg yolks plus one whole egg in a bowl.
- Drain pasta. Save some pasta water.
- Dump the hot pasta into the pan used for the bacon.
- While pasta is still hot but not on the heat, stir in the cooked meat and the Parmesan and egg mixture. Keep stirring or you will end up with scrambled eggs.
- Add pasta water to make it creamier if necessary.
Notes
Cubed or sliced pancetta will both work. If pancetta is unavailable, a few slices of bacon will do just fine. True Italian chefs use guanciale but, good luck finding it.
For extra flavor, sauté some onions and garlic in the pan used for the meat. Then add it into the final assembly. Don't overdo this.
You can also add cream or mayonnaise for some creaminess but, don't tell your Italian friends as this is considered a firm no no.
Other things that you can add include: Chicken, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Bell peppers
Important: use the best Parmesan cheese you can find. The cheap stuff will separate, leaving a disgusting, gloppy, inedible mess.
Also, important: do not allow the final mixture to over-heat. It will split, leaving a disgusting, gloppy, inedible mess.
Also, important: do not allow the final mixture to over-heat. It will split, leaving a disgusting, gloppy, inedible mess.