Serves a Crowd

Daddy's Carbonara

Name: Daddy's Carbonara
Yield: Serves about 6
Ingredients: 1 pound dried spaghetti; 1 pound bacon; 10 ounces frozen peas (1 package); 4 eggs; 1 cup fresh grated parmesan; black pepper

by: Eric Liftin

July 19, 2009

7 Ratings

Serves about 6

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

I refuse on principle to make pasta with butter (or powdered cheese) for my children. So I respond with this crowd-pleaser and artery-clogger. I prepared this version for my daughter's slumber party, and everyone loved it (even the vegetarian). Quick to prepare and easy to have on hand. Modify quantities and proportions as you will. Note use of complete packages below. I totally prefer American bacon to pancetta for its crispness in this dish. —Eric Liftin

Test Kitchen Notes

A good carbonara is not easy to find -- nor, for that matter, to make. We found the silky, rich sauce resulting from generous doses of bacon, egg and cheese totally addictive, and peas are a great addition. We also love the story behind Eric's recipe. After all, feeding one's children is often a necessity that breeds culinary invention. Because one of us (we won't name names) suffers the chronic plight of scrambling her eggs when she makes carbonara, we tempered the egg and cheese mixture by whisking in about 1/2 cup of the hot pasta water before adding the spaghetti. 10 oz. is a whole lotta peas (we're guessing Eric's kids are fans), so feel free to take his advice and modify the proportions. - A&M —The Editors

Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients

Directions

Start cooking the pasta (I have long subscribed to the less-water method Harold McGee addresses here).
Take the bacon out of the package, cold out of the refrigerator, and cut across the slices into 1/2" wide blocks. Cook in a skillet over medium heat, stirring and breaking up the blocks with a wooden spoon.
Dump the peas into a Pyrex bowl with a little water and microwave 3-4 minutes, until they are warm, stirring halfway through.
While all the cooking is going on, Mix the egg, parmesan, and pepper (to taste - it's best to use a lot, but for kids, maybe less) in a large bowl. It should have the consistency of thick batter.
When the pasta is done, drain it quickly. Don't linger, as it's good to capture some of the water. Dump the steaming spaghetti into the egg mixture, and agitate well to cook the egg. Add the bacon with a slotted spoon. Some purists will just empty the skillet into the bowl, but that is too much. Mix in the peas, and you're done. The biggest challenge is to get the bacon and peas mixed in evenly - I recommend steel tongs.

Tags:

Contest Entries

See what other Food52ers are saying.

Tina Heaney
abatjour
Kaite
KitchVega
Pete PedanticPete Bowcott

Popular on Food52

55 Reviews

Tina H. March 4, 2020

So, so, so good!

abatjour September 10, 2019

I never cook frozen peas. let'm sit in a bowl and dump em in
the pasta at end. just rinse the bowl and put away. bob's your
uncle.

lgh07 August 12, 2019

One of my favorites. Works every time. We all know peas aren't authentic to this recipe, but family recipes rarely are. The sweet peas are just so perfect with all this saltiness.

Kaite June 21, 2019

Easy to put together. I didn't have parmesan so I used pecorino and all was well. Tempered the eggs as suggested and cut back on the amount of peas. Delicious!

KitchVega October 23, 2018

Made this so many times I think it’s commited to memory.

Pete P. May 5, 2018

I love the line ... I prepared this version for my daughter's slumber party, and everyone loved it (even the vegetarian). It really tickles my darker sense of humour and troubles the ethical side of my brain ... I mean, a slumber party, with a vegetarian friend present ... and lets just chuck a pound of bacon in ... it worries me that I find it funny, sorry all ... my chuckling head is hung in shame ...

margaret February 14, 2018

Very good weeknight recipe. I sauteed spinach and garlic in some of the bacon grease then added the thawed peas. Threw it all together and it was great with arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette and garlic bread

MeatballQueen November 19, 2016

Love the addition of the fresh pop of peas with every forkful. I'm all about tradition but also love the fresh, new spins that keep these recipes in circulation

[email protected] July 8, 2016

Man, did I mess this recipe up. Too little pasta, too much bacon, too little cheese, too many peas. An undisclosed amount of egg- like, I wasn't even counting shells, I was high on the crack. Just mixed it all together willy-nilly. Didn't follow a single step, and it turned out....

Well, f*ckin' delicious.

Great recipe. Hard to scramble (ha, ha). I devoured it. Boyfriend can't wait to eat the leftovers. Cheers!

KitchVega September 8, 2014

Love this dish! I used bow tie pasta because that's all I had at the moment. Added the 1/2c to temper the eggs and since I was 4 slices short of a pound of bacon, I added most of the rendered fat. I'll walk off the extra calories tonight.

LeeLeeBee March 31, 2014

I love that the peas cut the richness of this dish (and make me feel a touch less guilty about what I'm eating for dinner!). I usually reserve about a cup of pasta water, whisking about 1/3 to 1/2 cup into the eggs to temper them before adding the egg mixture to the hot pasta, and then adding a bit more if needed. I've never had a problem with scrambling or with raw eggs that way. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!

John B. March 7, 2014

Thank you for this. I don't care about authenticity. I love peas, I love bacon, I love pasta, I love Parmesan, I love eggs, and I love pepper. I made this tonight and it was excellent. The only adjustments I made after reading all of the comments was tempering the egg/cheese 'batter' with a 1/2 cup of the hot past water and mixing all the final ingredients in a large Pyrex bowl with a close fitting lid. Great way to combine all of the yumminess and finish the egg off while combining with the hot pasta, peas and bacon. (I may have added a few tablespoons of the rendered peppered bacon fat as well) Ok, I definitely did that. Might even add another Tbsp or two next time. This was amazing.

ChefJune February 10, 2014

Peas are not a standard ingredient in Carbonara, though I agree they are a tasty addition.

Tina H. January 8, 2014

Just made this with Jonathan Robinson's notes. YUM.

Jonathan R. December 7, 2013

You should really start with a tablespoon of olive oil, or a tiny knob of butter before adding the bacon. Even in a non stick pan, Especially if you are using lean bacon. Crack fresh pepper over the bacon as it cooks. Seasoning is so important at every stage of the dish. No Salt is needed because the bacon is salted. Instead of cooking the peas in the microwave, throw the frozen peas into the pasta water 1 minute before you drain it, (probably 2 mins if you are using the whole bag) this doesnt overcook them and the peas pop in your mouth with amazing freshness.
Once you have drained the pasta and reserved a cup full of the water. Throw the pasta straight into the skillet, stir, season again with pepper. Add the water back to the skillet and as it starts to simmer. Turn the heat off and crack the eggs directly into the pasta and fold through, then fold through the cheese and finish with more cracked pepper. This allows the egg to coddle as it folds through the pasta and makes a wonderously creamy sauce.

Christian November 6, 2013

Great quick meal if your starving, took me bout 15 minutes to prep & serve... Thank you!

Cooking I. September 22, 2013

I made it with edemame instead of peas to please the non-pea lovers in the family. Pretty good results. Everything's good with bacon...

Elaine G. June 16, 2013

Nonna
When I lived in Rome in the1960s I was told that Carbonara refers to the occupation of charcoal burners--visible black pepper is a reminder of them. No peas in the Roman version--that is from paglia e fieno (hay and straw--white and green linguini).

nanw. June 16, 2013

my mother made this for me, and i want more

walkie74 January 17, 2013

i screwed up and added 1 whole cup, as opposed to half a cup, of pasta water. Hubby didn't complain, though--he seemed to enjoy it. He added red pepper flakes as well as black pepper. I had to substitute raw spinach for the peas, but it was still a hit.