Pasta Carbonara is one of those dishes that you always order at restaurants simply because you can ever get it the way you want to at home. I find that it’s hit or miss at restaurants and it’s so disappointing to pay heaps for a dish that just doesn’t cut it.
The other day, I just had this intense craving for pasta. I only had Bow-Ties and I was tired of eating those with a tomato based sauce. Pasta is pretty cheap here; the generic brands around about 60 cents per pack, so you can literally eat your heart out with pasta. I headed over to the grocery store and picked up a few ingredients, namely Parmesan cheese, thin Spaghetti, and sausages.
I came back and decided to try this simple recipe I once saw on PBS. It came out delicious and more importantly, it felt healthy yet it tasted oh-so-unhealthy. I’ve heard some people say that you need to use cream but apparently acclaimed chefs claim it’s a crime to use cream. Regardless, I didn’t use it and it turned out fine!
Ingredients:
- Spaghetti (Linguini or Bucatini work too)
- 1 Egg separated
- Shaved Parmesan Cheese
- Bacon or Sausage
- Salt and Pepper
Recipe:
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Before adding the pasta into the boiling water, make sure you heavily season the water with salt.
- In a side skillet, cook your meat. Most people use bacon, but since bacon is a bit more expensive here, I used sausages.
- When the pasta and the sausages are ready, drain the pasta and add to the skillet.
- At this stage, add a bit of Parmesan. Mix a bit and add the egg whites. Continue mixing until the egg whites cook.
- In a bowl (the one you plan on eating in), drop the egg yolk. Add the contents from the skillet, pasta and meat, into the bowl and immediately mix.
If necessary, season with salt and pepper. Add more Parmesan to your taste.
- I find that the trick to making good and flavorful pasta dishes lie in the basic rule of seasoning the water before you add in the pasta. Adding good sea salt greatly contributes to the flavor and sometimes, the pasta is even good enough to eat on its own without much additional sauce. But then again, that’s just me.
- You can add vegetables or any other ingredient to this dish. I added onions. First sauté whatever you want to add and make sure they are cooked fully before you add in the drained pasta.
- I find that added the cheese is really a subjective thing. Obviously adding more cheese will give it more “flavor,” but some people prefer less to more. The same thing goes with pasta. I don’t believe anyone actually eats a proper “serving” of pasta. The more the pasta, the cheese and seasoning you need.
- The creaminess of the dish comes from the egg yolk. Adding the egg in separately really makes a difference. It might look a bit weird with the random bits of egg white, but the taste sure makes up for it.
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Posted in Cooking Recipes, Pasta
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I made mine a few days ago with orzo, bacon, capers, and a poached egg. YuM!
I was so glad to see that you didn’t include any cream in your carbonara. I thought for years that I hated carbonara, but in reality, I just don’t like cream-based sauces! Proper carbonara is delicious! Nice post.