Easy Spaghetti Carbonara with Bacon
A velvety, creamy spaghetti Carbonara that is full of flavor and so easy to make. Also, it's totally foolproof, so don't worry about messing it up.
Servings: 6
Calories: 450kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb spaghetti
- 2 quarts of water (about 2 liters)
- 1 ½ tablespoon of table salt
- 3 whole eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 8 oz of bacon (225 g)
- 2 ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- 5 oz of grated Parmesan cheese (140 grams) (of good quality)
- 1½ cup of pasta water
- 2 tablespoon of chopped parsley optional
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start adding about 2 liters or 2 quarts of water in a pot, and bring it to a boil. Salt it with about 1 ½ tablespoon of table salt. Cook pasta for the amount of time stated in the package. Drain it reserving 2 cups of the cooking water.
- In the meantime, chop the bacon (or pancetta), and make sure that cheese is grated and garlic is minced.
- In a skillet, cook bacon until crispy. When bacon is ready, remove it from pan and set it aside. Leave about 1 tablespoon of bacon fat in the pan and add the chopped garlic. Sauté it until it starts changing color, being careful not to burn it since it changes color really fast. Remove it from pan quickly, so it won't continue cooking, and put it together with the bacon.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and the yolk and add a pinch of salt.
- By now your pasta is already cooked and drained (don't forget to set aside about 2 cups of the pasta water). Place the pasta back in the empty pan.
- Now, the most important step. Slowly pour 1 cup of the reserved super hot water into the egg mixture. Whisk it constantly and vigorously while pouring the water.Once water and eggs are combined, pour the mixture over the hot pasta and add the cheese. With the help of a tong, toss the pasta to get it all coated.You'll see that the sauce will get thicker and will cover the pasta. Add more water from the cooking process if you feel that it's too dry. (I usually end up adding about 1 ½ cup of water in total, but that depends on your pasta and your preference).
- Add bacon and garlic, toss it again to distribute it more evenly on the pasta, and add parsley and pepper, if desired. Try it and correct salt if needed.
- Voila!! You've just made a delicious Carbonara!Enjoy!!
Notes
We purposefully cook the pasta in less water than usual, so we can have a starchy water to thicken the sauce.
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The process of combining the hot starchy water with the eggs, will give you a few things: First, the scalding water will kill bacteria from the raw eggs. Second, the starch in the water will help you achieve the thickness and silky texture desired for the sauce. Third, it will be another help to not scramble the eggs.
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If you want to add even more protein to this dish, you can add some diced cooked chicken breast, that you might have in your fridge/freezer. Just reserve one more tablespoon of the bacon fat and use it to heat up the chicken.
Nutrition
Calories: 450kcal