Quarantine Cooking: Spaghetti alla Carbonara

I’ve touched on my Italian heritage in a previous post, and what I said there rings true: I was brought up with all the comforts of a southern Italian household. I was surrounded by a love of food, and the appreciation of EVERY bit of it, and I try to incorporate that into my cooking. That said, my version of “Italian” was exclusively from the perspective of a family tree who immigrated to America from the South of Italy. In Italy, there is a divide if you will, between the North and the South. While the North is defined by its classy art, architecture, and culture, the South holds dear to its traditions, its customs, and its hardy acclimated lifestyles that help the people there utilize the land and resources around them.

This is true in its cuisine as well. In my Grandmother’s house, tomatoes, vegetables, pork, and fish were the staples of the table. Occasionally we would treat ourselves to beef with a Sunday dinner that had ALL the immediate family there, though largely we were very frugal. Nothing went to waste; even our meat cuttings got put into bags for stocks. This largely stemmed from my ancestors passing on the knowledge of frugality that they had to develop in their home region of Calabria, with economic hardship surrounding them around the turn of the 20th century. To cope with those troubles, people of the south utilized new techniques. For example, in the south, it was rare to have a plethora of cheese at your disposal(especially in the heat of summer), so breadcrumbs were added as a pasta topping to create a textural crunch, in lieu of the precious salty treat that cheese was. They also relied on dried pasta, whereas up north, fresh pasta made with eggs was the staple. Calabrians had to think out of the box, and it paid off. To this day Cucina Povera still defines the charm and resilience of my ancestors’ homeland.

I’ve always looked at the Italian divide with intrigue, and I still actively look for ways to compare their dishes and their ingredients, as a way to understand how those dishes became the staples they are. Today’s recipe features one of my favorite dishes that I’ve researched, and in its own way, it feeds into the Idea of Cucina Povera, in that it has very few ingredients, is simple to make, and transforms the resulting dish into something greater than the sum of its parts. A good Spaghetti alla carbonara is an experience.

The colors are so bright!

The crazy part? This recipe is so easy to make it home, you’ll be shocked! Literally, this recipe only has 5 integral ingredients: pasta, water, egg yolks, bacon, and cheese. Of course, the garnish is optional, though I do like a good sprinkle of parsley on occasion.

First, separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. You know we love to support local, so we got these eggs from Mcintyre Family Farms during our last trip to Lark and Larder! I always feel more comfortable with farm-raised eggs when working with egg yolks. Don’t throw out those egg whites though! They can be used for baking and meringues, so stick them in a container in the fridge! They’ll last a few months in there. As for the yolks, put them in a small bowl for now. Then, add in the Pecorino Romano (Our pecorino is also local, and comes from Mountain Valley Farmstead), salt, and pepper, and stir well to incorporate everything together. Set the bowl aside!

Its so creamy already!

Next, let’s get the water going. In a large pot, fill it about ¾ full with water and dump in a bunch of salt. Generally, when making pasta, you want this water “As salty as the sea” as my mentor likes to say. That takes a decent amount of salt, so if you aren’t sure if you have enough, stir the water and take a quick taste. You’ll know when you do! Once the water comes to a rolling boil, add in the spaghetti, and cook till tender and Al Dente. Follow the package directions, but that should be around 8-10 minutes or so for dried pasta. When done, reserve about a cup of pasta water and drain the spaghetti.

You can SMELL this, can’t you! Heavenly!

While the water is getting ready, lets prep up some crispy bacon. We got our thick-cut bacon from Malheur River Meats during that same trip to Lark and Larder when we got those eggs! Place the bacon in the cold pan and set over high heat. This will start to rend the fat from the bacon and crisp it up nicely. Flip each piece of bacon to ensure it has a lovely texture all around. Then, once the bacon is done, set some of it aside for garnish. Lastly, take the pan off the heat. If you don’t, you’ll end up with scrambled eggs after this next part!

Now, add the pasta directly into the pan. Stir to incorporate the remaining bacon, and then add that lovely egg mixture from earlier. Mix the pasta in the egg mixture, making sure to coat every noodle! You can add pasta water little by little to make sure you have a decadent and creamy consistency. Just make sure it isn’t too watery! Remember the wise words: You can add, but you can’t take it back out! Plate the hearty pasta and serve! Don’t forget to garnish with shredded parm and parsley if you’ve got the knack to!

Look how the bright sauce just clings to that pasta!

This sauce is creamy, eggy, and salty, and incredibly hearty! A little of this sauce goes a long way. However, if the sauce is too thick, you can always use some extra pasta water to thin it out and enhance the creaminess. When there’s not enough time to plan out an extensive meal, try this one out! Your family will be shocked to find out that something so delicious looking was in fact just a few ingredients and extraordinarily little time to make! They’ll be amazing at how you turned something so simple into something so delicious! Until next time, Happy Eating!

I very much recommend so freshly brewed peach tea to accompany this bright meal! Give it a shot!

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Serves: 2-4 Healthy-sized Servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 10ish minutes

Ingredients:

• 5 eggs yolks

• ¾ cup finely grated Pecorino or Parmesan Cheese

• 4 slices thick bacon, cut into bite-size pieces

• Salt and Pepper

• 1lb Spaghetti Noodles

• Leftover pasta water, as needed

• Shredded Parmesan Cheese and Parsley for garnish (Optional)

Instructions:

1.       Combine Egg Yolk, Grated cheese, Salt and pepper in a small bowl, and mix together well. Set aside.

2.       Set a pot of water to boil and add copious amounts of salt (Salty like the sea!). Boil noodles as directed on package. Reserve one cup of pasta water and drain when pasta is al dente.

3.       While the pasta water boils, Make the crispy bacon. Add the bacon into a pan cold, then place on high heat to rend the fat. When bacon is crispy, remove bacon from pan and set pan aside, reserving fat.

4.       Add pasta directly to the pan (remember, off the heat!), and stir. Add in bacon and stir to incorporate. Then, pour in the egg yolk and cheese mixture, working to incorporate it into all the noodles. Add pasta water a little at a time to ensure a creamy consistency. Garnish with parsley, any leftover bacon, and shredded parm.