Carbonara 2: The Better of the Two

Carbonara at it’s best.

This carbonara recipe may even be better than the version I had made in August. It’s easier to eat and a bit more flavorful!

What you’ll need to serve 4 people:

• 1-2T olive oil
• 4 oz pancetta or bacon cut up into small pieces (omit for vegetarian)
• 1 shallot—chopped finely
• 2 garlic cloves—chopped finely
• 4 egg yolks (large)
• 1 egg (large)
• 3 oz hard Italian cheese (for example Parmesan)
• 2t ground pepper
• 12 oz strozzapreti (we use fusilli paesani, which is very chewy and takes 15-17 minutes to cook—see photos)

Here are a couple of shots of the fusilli paesani, for your reference:

What to do:

1. Heat oil and cook the bacon in a skillet until it is just beginning to turn crispy.
2. Add the shallot and garlic to the pan and cook until softened.
3. Transfer these three ingredients to a bowl, for later.
4. After it cools a bit, add the egg, yolks, cheese and pepper.
5. Cook pasta to the desired consistency in salted water.
6. Drain, but reserve ¼ cup of the cooking liquid.
7. Put in your skillet, along with the pasta water over low heat.
8. Add the egg/bacon/shallot mixture to the skillet and gently cook, stirring often.
9. Gently cook until sauce is done and covers all the pasta.
10. Serve

This version has a bit of creaminess, thanks to all of the egg yolks in the recipe.