Spaghetti Alla Carbonara
This recipe from Cook’s Illustrated revolutionized how we perceived and experienced this classic dish. As the article puts it, “Restaurant carbonara is often an unctuous, congealed mass of cheese, eggs, and bacon.” The test kitchen cooks focused on finding the “beauty in the beast” and certainly found it in this recipe. For instance, there is no cream used here, which makes it surprisingly light and extremely satisfying, with little post-eating blues after a rich carb meal– assuming of course that you control your portions, which is hard to do because this is just so good!
Some variations that we make
– Instead of using both the Parmesan and Pecorino Romano, use 1 cup of either of them or any other cheese in the Parmesan / Pecorino Romano family.
– Use Bacon, Lardon’s, Proscuitto, Tasso or any other pork belly meat that you can find and is a good price. It does need to have fat in it to get the flavor up there.
– Make the egg sauce in a 2 cup measuring cup and precook the skillet portions ahead of time, then when it’s time to eat gently heat up the skillet while boiling the pasta.
Recipe
From Cook’s’ Illustrated (September-October 2001)
Add regular table salt to the pasta cooking water, but use sea salt flakes, if you can find them, to season the dish. We like the full flavor they bring to the carbonara. Note that while either table salt or sea salt can be used when seasoning in step 3, they are not used in equal amounts.
Serves 4 to 6
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound bacon (6 to 8 slices), slices halved length-wise, then cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces (In France, we use lardon, pre-sliced from the supermarket. Proscuitto would also work.)
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 large eggs
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese , finely grated (about 2 ounces)
1/4 cup Pecorino Romano cheese , finely grated (about 3/4 ounce)
3 small cloves of garlic , pressed through garlic press or minced to paste
1 pound spaghetti
table salt
ground black pepper
Note: Pouring the cheese and eggs over the hot pasta, tossing, and then adding the bacon ensures that none of the sauce get left in the bowl.
1. Bring 4 quarts water to rolling boil in large Dutch oven or stockpot.
2. While water is heating, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat until shimmering, but not smoking. Add bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and crisp, about 8 minutes. Add wine and simmer until alcohol aroma has cooked off and wine is slightly reduced, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm. Beat eggs, cheeses, and garlic together with fork in small bowl; set aside.
3. When water comes to boil, add pasta and 1 tablespoon table salt; stir to separate pasta. Cook until al dente; reserve 1/3 cup pasta cooking water and drain pasta for about 5 seconds, leaving pasta slightly wet.
4. Transfer drained pasta to warm serving bowl; if pasta is dry, add some reserved cooking water and toss to moisten.
5. Immediately pour egg mixture over hot pasta, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes or 3/4 teaspoon table salt; toss well to combine.
6. Pour bacon mixture over pasta, season generously with black pepper, and toss well to combine. Serve immediately.