History
So I have always been a big fan of Italian food, I could probably live on Pasta and Pizza if I'm honest!!! I have tried to make carbonara a few times, using cream, creme fraiche etc... but it never really worked.
After researching the dish I felt it best to go back to the dishes' roots. Originating in Rome and eaten by the local coal workers; it's name derives from 'charcoal pit' and the abundance of cracked black pepper used to season the dish is meant to represent the charcoal flakes from the pit - there are many stories but this is my favourite!
Anyway; from researching the dish and looking at many recipes one thing remained constant...genuine carbonara from Roma has no cream!!!
Here's the Recipe
What you'll need - Serves 2
- Spaghetti 250g
- 3 Eggs
- Parmigiano-Reggiano (buy it already grated) :)
- Lots of Cracked Black Pepper
- Salt
- 6 Bacon rashers
Method
- First, cook the bacon in a large frying pan or wok in a little olive oil, once the bacon is cooked remove it from the heat but leave it in the pan
- Boil the kettle and transfer water into a BIG saucepan, season the boiling water with salt
- Add the Spaghetti, after about 1 minute bring the water to a gentle simmer (water will be bubbling a little) and cook as per packet instructions - usually 10-12 minutes
- While pasta is cooking you can make the sauce
- In a bowl crack in 2 full eggs and 1 egg yolk, mix in about 40-50g of the Parmigiano-Reggiano (more if you fancy it) and add a very generous amount of cracked black pepper, whisk until it forms a sauce - SAUCE DONE!
- When the pasta is cooked drain it and add it to pan with the bacon, mix well, remember the heat should be off or very very very low
- Pour your sauce over the pasta and bacon, the heat of the spaghetti will cook the sauce, if the pan is too high the eggs will scramble! So be very careful! Cooking only takes 1-2 minutes at most
- Transfer your dish to a plate of your choice, top with more Parmigiano-Reggiano and another generous helping of cracked black pepper!
Serve with Garlic Bread - Tuck in - andiamo a mangiare