Pasta Carbonara
I recently read "bacon is the fairy dust of the culinary world". If that is the case, then I am tinkerbell. Cause I LOVE bacon and I use it often. Actually, I like most anything pork related. And this pasta dish is as good a way as any for using pork related products. And SUPER simple. It has less than 12 ingredients and takes about 15-20 min to make. Good for a quick before-the-game meal or a oops-I-forgot-to-take-the-chicken-out-of-the-freezer supper. So I'm going to get started and quit yapping.
Our ingredients: Parmesan cheese, white wine, chicken stock, parsley, onion, garlic, eggs, butter linguine, and bacon.
First throw the bacon in a pan and start frying.
While that is working, chop the onion and mince the garlic. Then start a pot of water with about 2 Tbls of salt to boiling. Keep an eye on that bacon, the worst sin is to let bacon burn. Okay, maybe it isn't a sin, but it should be!
Give the bacon another stir then get out a large bowl. Large enough to hold all your ingredients and still leave room to stir. This is kinda like a two pot meal. But one is a pan and the other is a bowl. That's it. Besides a knife and a cutting board that is all you need. Check your pasta water, if it is boiling, add the past now and cook for about 9-10 min.
Add the chopped parsley and grated parm to the bowl and mix well.
Note to self: make sure you pick up PARSLEY not cilantro when you make this dish again! UGH
Once the bacon is done remove from the pan with a slotted spoon. Then add the onion to the bacon grease. After it has cooked down for a few minutes add the garlic. Once that is done remove with a slotted spoon. Then put the pan back on at medium high to high heat and add the wine scraping up the bits at the bottom. Then add the chicken stock. Add the bacon, onion and garlic back to the sauce and reduce heat to a simmer. Try not to go to far, like trying to find your children because they are being too quiet only to find them outside using the water hose to make mud puddles while still in their school clothes. So don't let it simmer too long, or you will end up with this. And there goes some of your sauce. It should be close to this, but not so dry.
So drain your pasta and add it directly to the egg mixture. On top of that add the bacon, onion, garlic and butter. With the hot pasta on the bottom it is starting to cook the eggs, so you want to start stirring/tossing the ingredients together. The eggs with set some and combine with the white wine/chicken stock sauce and the parsley will wilt some.
After it is all throughly mixed it is time to serve. Dish out in bowls and top with a little parmesan and parsley. I eat this by itself, but if you have company, serve with a small simple salad. Enjoy.
Pasta Carbonara
Serves 4
1/2 lb linguine pasta
2 eggs
1/2 pound bacon or pancetta, 1/2inch pieces
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese plus 1/4 for topping
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine (or substitute another cup of stock)
1/4 stick of butter
1/4 cup of fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 - 1 tablespoons black pepper
First, toss your bacon into a stainless steel pan. Stainless steel is better for this dish because it will help to develop flavor later on. While the bacon’s cooking, set a pot of salted water and about 2 tbsp. salt per gallon of water on the stove for the pasta.
Once the bacon has crisped up, remove it with a slotted spoon to a bowl and put the pan back on the stove. Now put the diced onions into the bacon grease.Give them a quick stir and let them cook down over a medium-high heat for a couple of minutes. Then throw in the garlic.
If the pasta water is boiling, go ahead and add in the pasta. and cook for 9-10 minutes.
After the onion and garlic are cooked, removed from the pan with a slotted spoon. And carefully dump out the excess grease. Place the pan back on high heat and pour in the white wine (or chicken stock if you’re not using wine). Scrape the bottom of the pan vigorously until the little bits of flavor (the bacon left behind) have released themselves into the liquid. After scraping, add in the 1 cup of chicken stock. Return the bacon, onion, and garlic to the pan in the sauce you just created. Now stir together simmer over medium heat.
Crack the eggs into a large bowl. A bowl large enough to hold the pasta and other ingredients, and still leave room to stir together. Add the 1/2 cup of Parmesan and the parsley to the eggs. You can leave out a little parsley for garnishing. Mix well.
If the pasta is done, drain the water off. Then add the hot pasta to the egg/parmesan/parsley mixture. It’s important that the pasta be very hot, because this is what cause the eggs to cook. Then add the bacon,onion and butter on top of the pasta. And mix! Use tongs or pasta forks for this. Then add in the black pepper. Once everyting is combined......your done!
Serve and toss on the extra cheese and parsley for a delicious Italian classic. Serve with a nice simple salad.