So I’ve been in search of a great Pasta Carbonara. Something that reminds me of my honeymoon in Italy. That first night, when we arrived late because our flight was delayed, we missed the meeting with our travel group, asked the front desk for a local restaurant…and we enjoyed probably the BEST food we had the whole trip! Yummy Pasta carbonara, bruschetta and red wine! (Heaven on earth) So I found this recipe on Pinterest and made a couple modifications and it was definitely close to our Italian experience! Now if only I can recreate that delicious Italian bread and bruschetta!
Here are the ingredients:
- 8 ounces pasta – I love to use Tortiglioni or a large rigatoni (something imported from Italy!) but you can use spaghetti noodles (1/2 pound)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 7 slices bacon, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; reserve 1 cup water and drain well. You can leave the al dente pasta in the water to stay hot.
In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, a small pinch of salt and Parmesan; set aside.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes; leave excess fat (I only used about 1/2). Set aside bacon.Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium low.
Working quickly, stir in pasta and egg mixture, and gently toss to combine; wait to season with salt because the bacon and Parmesan will add salt and you don’t want it to end up being too salty. Toss in bacon. At this point keep stirring and do not let your heat get too high. The sauce might look runny at first but it will “tighten” up as it cooks. This allows the eggs to get to a safe temperature. Kind of like when you make Hollandaise sauce. You will only cook it for a few minutes more. If the heat is too high or you cook it for too long your eggs may scramble.
Only add the reserved pasta water if your sauce gets too thick for your liking.
*Optional*Add reserved pasta water, one tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.
Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired. I also top it with fresh grated Parmesan and a little fresh ground pepper which is how it’s served in Italy! It’s so delicious! Enjoy and leave me some love if you like it! 🙂
Sweet pieces by me 