Author Notes
I don't know what it is, but I almost always think "breakfast for dinner" when I am cooking dinner just for myself. The meal is always savory, not sweet (although ENunn's Lemony Cream Cheese pancakes may change that someday), and usually boils down to a choice of either a stinky cheese and veggie omelet, or this "bacon and egg" wonder, Spaghetti Carbonara. It is a meal that I always have the ingredients on-hand for, and is a breeze to cook for one. Spaghetti Carbonara, loosely translated from Italian means “Coal Miner’s Pasta.” As legend has it, it was a favored dish of said Italian miners because they could easily carry the few ingredients required underground and cook them simply on a camp stove. I’ve even read that the liberal sprinkling of fresh ground black pepper to finish the dish is meant to evoke the coal dust that inevitably settled on each plate of the miners’ meal. The dish is rumored to have been imported to the states by GIs returning home from duty in WWII. It is said to have been a favorite meal prepared for our soldiers by recently liberated, and very grateful Italian families, who cooked with ingredients that they knew the GIs were homesick for, bacon and eggs. The recipe as written below will serve 4 people, when alone, I'll make a 1/4 version. I could eat it EVERY night! —Oui, Chef
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Ingredients
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1 pound
spaghetti
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1/2 pound
pancetta (sliced 1/4 “ thick at the deli, and cut into lardons)
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4
large eggs (locally raised and cage-free if possible)
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1 tablespoon
garlic, finely chopped
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1 cup
Pecorino Romano cheese, freshly grated
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2 tablespoons
extra virgin olive oil
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2 tablespoons
finely minced fresh parsley
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Freshly ground black pepper
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Freshly grated parmesan reggiano to pass at the table
Directions
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Put salted water on the boil for the pasta, grate the romano cheese and set aside, finely mince the fresh parsley and reserve.
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In a very large skillet, saute the pancetta lardons in the olive oil over medium heat until the bacon has rendered much of its fat. You don’t want to cook the pancetta to the point of being crisp, it is better with a little fatty “chew” still left in it. Just before the pancetta is done, add the minced garlic to the pan and allow to cook until the garlic is golden brown. Set the pan aside to cool. (Allowing the pan to cool some at this point is important, because if the pan is too hot when you add the eggs later, they will immediately scramble, and not gently cook into the creamy sauce that is your ultimate goal. The dish will still taste fine if this happens, but it will look like someone gacked in your pan, so be careful.)
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Break the eggs into a medium sized bowl and whisk them till smooth. Add the grated cheese to the eggs and keep handy.
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Cook the pasta to the maker’s instructions for “al dente”, and as soon as it is done, quickly strain it and toss it into the skillet with the pancetta, reserving a cup of the pasta cooking water to thin your sauce later if needed. Add the cheese and egg mixture to the pasta along with the parsley, and toss to coat. The heat from the pasta will gently cook the eggs, and melt the cheese into a luxuriously rich and smooth sauce. If the sauce is too thick for your liking, add some of the reserved pasta cooking water to loosen it. Check the sauce for seasoning before plating.
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To serve, place the pasta into warmed bowls, top liberally with freshly ground black pepper, and sprinkle with some freshly grated parmesan.
I am a father of five, who recently completed a two year professional hiatus during which I indulged my long held passion for cooking by moving to France to study the culinary arts and immerse myself in all things French. I earned “Le Grande Diplome” from Le Cordon Bleu, studied also at The Ritz Escoffier and Lenotre cooking schools, and completed the course offerings of the Bordeaux L’Ecole du Vin.
About six months ago started "Oui, Chef", which is a food blog that exists as an extension of my efforts to teach my children a few things about cooking, and how our food choices over time effect not only our own health, but that of our local food communities and our planet at large. By sharing some of our cooking experiences through the blog, I hope to inspire other families to start spending more time together in the kitchen, cooking healthy meals as a family, passing on established familial food traditions, and perhaps starting some new ones.
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