Tuesday 17 April 2012

Tyler Florence's Spaghetti ala Carbonara

Today, I want to try something authentic. I have tried making "carbonara" before but I didn't use the real ingredients. This time I want to follow a recipe to a tee because I usually deviate. Hehe I'm not a good student! I did my best to stick to the recipe, I tell you. But I saw my fresh button mushrooms in the fridge, they were like calling to me to use them for my dish. :D So I added them. Hee hee

Ingredients
  • 1 lb dry spaghetti
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 ounces pancetta or slab bacon, cubed or sliced into small strips
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Cheese baby!


Eggsssss

Fresh parsley

Olive oil

Bacon

Fresh button mushrooms

Directions:

1. Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking to ensure that the spaghetti will be hot and ready when the sauce is finished; it is very important that the pasta is hot when adding the egg mixture, so that the heat of the pasta cooks the raw eggs in the sauce.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender yet firm (as they say in Italian "al dente.") Drain the pasta well, reserving 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water to use in the sauce if you wish.

3. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium flame. Add the pancetta and saute for about 3 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the fat is rendered. Toss the garlic into the fat and saute for less than 1 minute to soften.

4. Add the hot, drained spaghetti to the pan and toss for 2 minutes to coat the strands in the bacon fat. Beat the eggs and Parmesan together in a mixing bowl, stirring well to prevent lumps. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the egg/cheese mixture into the pasta, whisking quickly until the eggs thicken, but do not scramble (this is done off the heat to ensure this does not happen.) Thin out the sauce with a bit of the reserved pasta water, until it reaches desired consistency. Season the carbonara with several turns of freshly ground black pepper and taste for salt. Mound the spaghetti carbonara into warm serving bowls and garnish with chopped parsley. Pass more cheese around the table.



Egg with the cheese


The egg and cheese mixture

Frying the bacon

Bacon, garlic and mushrooms

Mixing the pasta to the bacon and mushrooms

Tadah!


Source: Food Network

9 comments:

  1. Yay I wanna try this! I usually cooked the Creamy carbonara, But this one looks yummy! Pasta lover here, too. Thanks for sharing =)

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  2. magkaiba ba lasa? i only use all purpose cream every time i make carbonara. =)

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    Replies
    1. Yes, the eggs and the Parmesan cheese make the difference in the taste! :) It's egg-y and just enough saltiness in the pasta. I also some variations that need heavy cream or dry white wine but they still use eggs and parmesan cheese.

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  3. Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano ?! I won't think re price when I buy it next time :P Looks fantastic and scrumptious , Tin !

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    Replies
    1. Yes Tita Lis, don't look at the price. haha i bought the block instead of grated kay mas cheap diba? i love love love cheese!!

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  4. i am so thrilled by your photos! gorgeous!

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