Friday, January 31, 2014

Spaghetti Carbonara

This a classic Italian dish that's easy to make, very comforting, and inexpensive. I love pasta, honestly where would the world be without pasta, and this is definitely one of my favorite pasta dishes. And because it's inexpensive you can eat a generous portion and still feed other people as well. The finishing touch to this dish are garlic and herb breadcrumbs which add an amazing crunch to the dish. In Italy they call the breadcrumbs that you sprinkle over pasta "pangrattato" (pane = bread, grattato = grated). Well there's your Italian lesson for the day onto the recipe!

Ingredients:
3/4 lb. dried spaghetti
2 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream
handful of grated parmesan cheese
6 slices of bacon or pancetta, diced into small pieces
3 slices of stale white bread
2 sprigs of rosemary
1 fat garlic clove, roughly chopped
1 tbsp. oil

Preheat your oven to 400°F

Bitz the slices of bread, rosemary, garlic, and oil in a food processor, pour it onto a baking sheet, and toast in the oven for 10-15 minutes tossing occasionally

Bring a pan of salted water to a boil, add the spaghetti and cook for 8-10 minutes

In a separate pan, add the diced bacon and fry until cooked and crisp

Beat the eggs, the yolks, the heavy cream and the grated parmesan in a small bowl

Drain the pasta and add it back into the hot pan with the creamy egg mixture, and the crispy bacon

Toss the whole thing until well combined

Serve each plate with a generous portion of pasta and sprinkle some of the breadcrumbs on top