Authentic Spaghetti Carbonara Pasta Recipe
By Mark Knowles
Recipe For Spaghetti Carbonara
Living close to Italy, I have plenty of opportunities to wander over the border and sample genuine Italian cooking. In fact, I’ve been know to pop over to Italy just for a pizza for lunch. Another of my all-time favorite recipes is spaghetti carbonara.
Every chef has their own particular way of serving this dish, but this is my own preference. This dish is so simple to prepare with great basic ingredients, bacon, egg and cream, yum! Of course, you do not have to use spaghetti – you can use tagliatelle, fettucine or linguine, whichever you prefer. For this dish I prefer dried pasta rather than fresh, the sauce is rich enough without more eggs.
Pasta Carbonara needs to be served hot, freshly cooked, it does not sit well, so make sure you are ready to serve this one immediately. This recipe takes no more than 20 minutes from start to finish. This will serve four.
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You will need:
Equipment:
- A large sauce pan for the pasta
- A medium saucepan for the sauce
- A wooden spoon
- A colander
Ingredients:
- Olive oil
- 1lb spaghetti
- ½ lb chopped bacon
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 pint cream
- 4 table spoons Parmesan cheese, grated
- 4 fresh large eggs
- 1 large bottle of wine
First open the wine, pour and sip. The pasta should be cooked at the same time as the sauce, and takes about the same length of time. You don’t want the sauce or the pasta sitting too long before serving.
Place the pasta in a large pot of boiling water and cook for 8-10 minutes depending on the pasta. Check the cooking instructions on whichever pasta you are using.At the same time, put 2 table spoons of olive oil in a sauce pan over a medium heat. Add the crushed garlic and bacon. Cook until the bacon is going brown. Add the cream and bring to a boil. Add the parmesan and simmer until the pasta is ready. Add salt and pepper to taste.Break the eggs and discard the whites, keeping a piece of the shell to hold the yokes. You can use an egg separator, but just breaking the egg in half and pouring the contents back and forth between the two halves until the white is gone works just fine.When the pasta is cooked, drain in a colander, return to the pan and add the sauce, stirring to cover the pasta. Divide between four plates and serve with an egg yolk sitting in the shell in the middle and a sprig of fresh basil. Serve immediately with fresh bread, salad and parmesan cheese and black pepper on the side. When the pasta is served, let your diners turn the egg out into their plate and stir into the pasta. Don’t worry, the egg will cook from the heat of the sauce and pasta. This adds a very rich taste to the dish and looks great. There are loads of ways to do this recipe. You can use ham or proscuitto instead of bacon, add clams, or fava beans or even plain peas. Throw in a chopped onion with the bacon if you like. It’s a great recipe to have fun with. This is the best carbonara recipe ever.Buon Apetito!More great Italian Recipes
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Comments
LOL, if you want low fat, I'm afraid you'll have to look else where. I did once make a low fat something, but I can't remember where I put the recipe.
You cook, too? What CAN'T you do? :P Hehe.
Oh, I am sure there are a million things I can't do LOL
you write very fine hubs!
Which country are you in Mark? Next to Italy is France, and it has crazy moped drivers...but I think you might be a bangers and mash kinda guy.
templar - France. I love bangers and mash also :)
But I hate those fuckin mopeds. :D
I was thinking about making carbonara for dinner tonight and found this wonderful recipe... sounds absolutely delicious, Mark!
Thanks - Enjoy :)
Great recipe Mark Knowles- will try it out - I have cooked carbonara but this sounds a better and slightly more dramatic way of serving with the egg still in it's shell...cheers
My pleasure - I love the extra richness from the raw egg (which gets cooked when stirred in )
Wow - just the thing for tonight's dinner - creamy, rich, that egg yolk sounds wonderful - and Italian is a family favourite! Thanks - and I've never cooked carbonara before, only had it in restaurants.
Thanks - I hope you enjoy :)
Another dish I've never tried. Thanks for the lead. You are a great source of food info. I'll need to try this one the next time I'm craving Italian food. Which I have to say that I'm very jealous that you can visit Italy so much.
Sorry - I can pop over for lunch occasionally :)
thank you the recipe worked wonders betty
lol
My pleasure :)
this is really a nice recipe...i could use this tonight at dinner...this really looks delicious!!!..:)
Thanks - I hope you enjoy :)
I am french, that's the way I've learnt how to make carbo. The best way to my taste buds, and I even add a grind of nutmeg (especially the yolk, makes it delicious). But I have to say that lots of italians would disagree on calling that recipe carbonarra, as lots of them do not use cream, just the proscuitto, eggs yolks beaten, parmesan and parsley.
me again, I forgot the garlic of course...
LOL
True enough - depending on where they come from in Italy. :)
...yum..yum! I can feel my stomach shouting now! Thank you Sir for this hubilicious recipe! :)
My pleasure
I am jsut starting out learning to cook (rather late in life) and you describe things so well, that I feel that I must drop a short thank you note. So, thank you .. :-)
You sound as delicious as your pasta :)
hi Mark, i used to live in Northern Italy and it's actually interesting that there are several different ways to make Carbonara (from what i have experienced). but i definately recommend your recipe !!
thanks,
Danny
I love carbonara. It's my comfort food (whatever that means).
Carbonara seems to get more attention these days, mainly in part to Quiznos...but it is an excellent Italian classic none the less. I find the balance between the tomatoes and bacon to be delicious.
You pretty much nailed everything on this recipe, and the spaghetti carbonara sounds awesome!
Nice recipe Mark but carbonara does not have cream! Italians who read this will be rolling their eyes...apart from that your recipe looks very tasty
Nice and useful recipe you actually shared in here which a salivating one indeed.
Just about to try your delicious (I am confident!) recipe, however, I haven't enough cream! :-( I wonder what it would taste like if I add more egg? I'll let you know!! xxx
kab-yucatan 4 years ago
This is why I am a fan of Mark Knowles - low-fat cooking at its finest! wink