Sunday, February 26, 2006

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara...Manga!

Hello again my friends. I would like to share with you one of my favorite Italian dishes to make. I've read that this pasta recipe comes from the Lazio region, which is where Rome is. I had this dish in a hotel in the town of Orte, Lazio. They used a touch less egg, perhaps 2 instead of 3...at least, I think so...it is kind of hazy-slash-dreamy to recall because the hotel owner's daughter, who served us, was a real Italian beauty with dark hair, large, dark eyes, light skin and a no nonsense way about her. Mamma Mia! After serving us and others, she and her equally-as-beautiful mother sat off to the side and watched in amusement as a group of Italian men cheered a soccer game on the television, several of them inebriated out of their minds, but happy as Liguria clams. Classic. Anyway, uh, back to the ingredients...ummm, where were we? Eggs...oh, yes, you might experiment. Two eggs work, but three makes it totally deggadent, har har.


Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup diced bacon (I use Pancetta instead of American bacon)
1 garlic clove, peeled
14 oz spaghetti
salt and fresh ground pepper
3 eggs, beaten
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
6 tablespoons grated Pecorino cheese (use all Parmesan if you can't find Pecorino)

Melt butter in large, heavy pan, add bacon and garlic, fry gently until browned, then remove garlic from the pan.

Cook spaghetti in salted water until al dente, drain, add to bacon. Stir well and remove from heat. Add eggs, a pinch of pepper, half the Parmesan and half the Pecorino. Toss until eggs turn creamy, then add remaining cheeses. You might put over heat again, but be careful that the egg doesn't start to cook too much. Add a touch more salt and pepper if desired. Toss again and serve. (Serves 4.)

Enjoy this rich, GUILT-LADEN dish!

5 comments:

Aaron Abitia said...
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momoftheyear said...

Yum, so when can I come over for dinner?

marii said...

oh my goodness...this sounds super awesome! I am totally going to try it next weekend.

I will remember to imagine the girl with the long legs and dark hair while i am eating it! ha ha.

marii said...

by the way, i don't think that picture gives this dish any justice...it sounds much better than the picture shows.

vivian said...

Yum! I gotta try this! Sounds delicious! :)