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Dinners become a more intimate affair come winter, which is why comforting recipes are preferred by many users this time of the year. We have the perfect recipe if this is what you’re looking for too – a super creamy spaghetti carbonara.
A widely famous Italian dish, carbonara is made with guanciale, which is a special kind of bacon made with cured pork cheeks, but you can substitute this with pancetta or use every day bacon – just avoid using anything smoked.
The original carbonara recipe skips the cream, but we’ve still added it to make it more wholesome. You can always leave it out and stay true to the traditional recipe if you want.
Ingredients for Spaghetti Carbonara
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup pecorino Romano cheese or Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 oz spaghetti or penne pasta/fettuccine
1/2 oz bacon, cut into half-inch dices
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp Italian parsley, chopped
Kosher salt, according to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, according to taste
- In a large pot, boil water for pasta. Salt heavily.
- Take a sauté pan and add the diced bacon, cooking it slowly over low heat. The idea here is to make the bacon crispy, which should take about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the bacon bits from the pan and place it on paper towels to drain excess grease.
- Add your spaghetti into the boiling water and cook according to instructions given on the back of the package. Usually, 6 to 9 minutes or until the spaghetti is al dente is good enough – it should still be firm to the bite.
- In the meantime, while your spaghetti cooks, add the egg yolks, cheese, cream and olive oil in a bowl and whisk until the ingredients are properly combined.
- Take out about a half cup of the pasta water and keep it aside.
- Drain your pasta. Place the spaghetti back into the pot – along with the bacon this time.
- Add the egg, cheese and cream mixture to the pot, stirring in briskly until the sauce thickens up. Remember, the pot should be off the heat. You can adjust the sauce consistency by using the reserved pasta water.
- Plate your spaghetti carbonara and garnish with freshly ground black pepper and chopped parsley. You can also add grated cheese if need be.
