Pasta Carbonara

When we go out to Italian, one of my go to meals is pasta carbonara. How can you go wrong with creamy pasta with pancetta (or in some cases) bacon. I also love carbonara because of the amount of pepper that is used. I am a pepper fanatic, so any dish that calls for extra is all right by me.

John and I go to this little Italian joint called Fratelli’s quite frequently. The first time I ordered their carbonara, I was pleasantly surprised. In addition to the creamy pasta and pancetta or bacon, they added in some green peas. I had never had carbonara with green peas (although I found out later this isn’t uncommon), and man oh man was it good. It gives it a little extra something something.

I think making carbonara scares some people because the sauce is made from eggs (primarily egg yolks), cheese, lots of pepper, and a little bit of cream (just a touch). You also have to be very careful when cooking it to assure you don’t come out with scrambled eggs and it is a little bit difficult to make. But let me tell you, it is worth it to take the time to make this dish because it is so yummy!

• 1-1 ½ pounds of pancetta diced or 1 pound of bacon diced
• 4 large egg yolks and one large egg
• ½ cup heavy cream - this is optional, but it does help to thin your sauce out a bit
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese grated fine
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• ½ to 1 cup pasta water - just ladle this out and set aside when you are almost through cooking your pasta.
• 1 - 1 ½ cups frozen peas
• 1 pound of pasta - I use bucatini, which is thick spaghetti with a hole in the center, by spaghetti would work fine too
• Salt and lots of pepper to taste

In a large pan over medium heat, cook your pancetta or bacon until crisp. It is very important you cook over medium heat so you render out the fat. While cooking, season generously with pepper. Remove the bacon or pancetta from the pain, drain on a paper towel, and set aside. Save 2-3 tablespoons of the drippings in the pan. Saute your garlic in the drippings for about 3 minutes until just turning brown.

In the meantime, whisk your egg yolks, egg, and cream and let come up to room temperature. Add in ½ cup Parmesan cheese, salt to taste, lots of pepper, and the cooked bacon or pancetta.

Cook your pasta until al dente. Add the peas when the pasta has about one minute to 30 seconds left to cook. At this point, don’t forget to reserve a little bit of the pasta water. Drain the pasta, and immediately add back into the pot. Turn the heat off (if not, you will scramble those eggs) and begin adding your egg mixture. Toss with the pasta for about one minute. At that point, begin adding in your reserved pasta water just a little bit at a time until your sauce is as thick or thin as you like. Garnish with the additional Parmesan cheese and serve with cheesy garlic bread!

YUM!