My sweet baby sister Erin celebrated her birthday this week. She is a truly gifted second grade teacher who has worked her fingers to the bone trying to keep things running smoothly for her class during the quarantine. Lovely and kind, she is one of the funniest people you will ever meet. And she loves pasta. So much so that every time we went to a restaurant growing up, she always ordered spaghetti. Didn't matter if it was an Italian restaurant or not, the girl wanted her noodles. And her regular pasta request at home was always Spaghetti Carbonara. If you don't know Carbonara, on the surface, it's just bacon and egg pasta. At it's heart, it is so very much more. Rich and a cheesy, salty and peppery (that's where the name Carbonara comes from - the black pepper in the dish is reminiscent of coal, or carbone in Italian), it is lush and silky and soothing and wonderful. It's more than meets the eye. Kind of like my sister.
My sister's favorite, Spaghetti Carbonara
If you've ever tried Carbonara, you may have noticed that the recipe seems open to many interpretations. Some are rich and creamy with the addition of heavy cream, and some are almost dry. Some have smoked bacon, and some have pancetta or guanciale. Some are spiked with Locatelli Romano cheese, others seasoned with milder, nutty Reggiano Parmigiano. And some even have peas or mushrooms. I am an equal opportunity pasta lover myself, so I'm completely fine with any version as long as it is delicious. My mother's version is the classic, and contains no cream. I made a slight variation on hers by adding just a little cream (a technique I learned from Valter Nassi when I had the pleasure of joining him in the kitchen of his eponymous Salt Lake City restaurant, Valter's) to enrich the sauce, but it is by no means a cream sauce.
A great big bowl of yum
The sauce isn't cooked on the stove, and is instead cooked by stirring the hot pasta and pancetta into the raw eggs, cream and cheese. If you worry about eating raw eggs (although I assure you, the heat of the pasta, along with the little bit of hot pasta water added to temper them, does cook the eggs), you can find pasteurized eggs in most grocery stores, and they taste exactly the same as the non-pasteurized eggs you usually eat. And this recipe is completely customizable - add more pepper if you like it spicy, less if you don't, more cheese or less cheese, even dress it up with peas or mushrooms if you want (I won't call the pasta police, I promise).
Spaghetti Carbonara (serves 4-6)
Ingredients:
1 lb good dried spaghetti (I like DeCecco)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, bruised but not chopped (smash with the side of a knife to remove paper and keep whole)
5 oz diced pancetta (can sub bacon if pancetta isn't available)
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Reggiano Parmigiano cheese (or domestic parmesan, or romano, whatever you like)
freshly ground pepper
Kosher salt
2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
Method:
Prepare pasta in salted water according to package instructions for al dente.
While pasta cooks, heat olive oil over medium heat and add in garlic cloves. Sauté until they begin to turn golden, then remove from the pan. Add pancetta and cook until lightly browned. Deglaze pan with white wine and cook until the wine is cooked out. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl, whisk eggs, egg yolk, cream and cheese. Season with black pepper.
Before draining pasta, remove 1/4 cup cooking water. Slowly add that to egg mixture, whisking the entire time to temper eggs.
Drain pasta (do not rinse) and add hot pasta to egg mixture. Add pancetta (and the fat left in the pan, trust me). Using tongs, stir rapidly to coat the pasta and emulsify the sauce. You will need to stir at least a full minute, maybe a little more. Work quickly to keep the egg from scrambling (the pasta water tempered the egg for you so it shouldn't scramble, but you can't be too careful). The sauce will thicken as it heats. Once everything is coated and the sauce looks glossy, add in parsley and salt to taste. Add more cheese if you like. Serve with extra cheese on the side.
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