**Carbonara: A Classic Italian Pasta Dish with a Creamy, Savory Sauce**
Carbonara is a classic Italian pasta dish that is simple to make yet incredibly flavorful. It features spaghetti tossed in a creamy sauce made with eggs, Parmesan cheese, pancetta or guanciale, and black pepper. The result is a rich, decadent dish that is sure to please everyone at the table. In this article, we'll provide you with two variations of carbonara: a traditional recipe using pancetta and a vegetarian version using mushrooms. We'll also share some tips for making the perfect carbonara, such as how to achieve the ideal sauce consistency and how to prevent the eggs from scrambling. So, gather your ingredients and get ready to indulge in this timeless Italian delicacy!
SPAGHETTI CARBONARA
Provided by Ree Drummond : Food Network
Categories main-dish
Time 25m
Yield 4 to 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions while you start the sauce.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil and pancetta. Cook until the pancetta gets brown and crispy, 3 to 4 minutes.
- In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the cheese and some salt and pepper.
- When the spaghetti is done, drain it, reserving some of the cooking water, and add the pasta to the hot pancetta skillet. Toss to coat the pasta with the oil. Remove the skillet from the heat and pour over the egg mixture, tossing quickly so the eggs don't scramble. Add some of the hot cooking water to thin it out and form a sauce. Toss in the parsley. Serve immediately with some extra cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.
SPAGHETTI CARBONARA II
A super rich, classic 'bacon and egg' spaghetti dish. Great to serve for company. This recipe also makes an unusual brunch offering.
Provided by SABRINATEE
Categories Main Dish Recipes Pasta Spaghetti Recipes
Time 40m
Yield 8
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti pasta until al dente. Drain well. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and set aside.
- Meanwhile in a large skillet, cook chopped bacon until slightly crisp; remove and drain onto paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon fat; add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and heat in reused large skillet. Add chopped onion, and cook over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add minced garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add wine if desired; cook one more minute.
- Return cooked bacon to pan; add cooked and drained spaghetti. Toss to coat and heat through, adding more olive oil if it seems dry or is sticking together. Add beaten eggs and cook, tossing constantly with tongs or large fork until eggs are barely set. Quickly add 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and toss again. Add salt and pepper to taste (remember that bacon and Parmesan are very salty).
- Serve immediately with chopped parsley sprinkled on top, and extra Parmesan cheese at table.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 444.1 calories, Carbohydrate 44.7 g, Cholesterol 117.5 mg, Fat 21.1 g, Fiber 2.1 g, Protein 16.4 g, SaturatedFat 6.7 g, Sodium 368.8 mg, Sugar 2.4 g
CARBONARA SAUCE
Provided by Food Network Kitchen
Time 15m
Yield 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of pasta water.
- 2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook pancetta over medium heat until slightly crispy; set aside with all the drippings.
- 3. While the pancetta is cooking, in a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and yolks with Parmigiano-Reggiano, parsley and generous amount of salt and pepper to taste. After draining the pasta, return it to the pot and add the pancetta and drippings. Working quickly, add the egg and cheese mixture stirring everything together until the noodles are coated and creamy. Add pasta water, as needed, to loosen the noodles slightly if the sauce becomes too thick. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Transfer to serving bowls and serve hot with additional cheese.
SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA
For a quick dinner, whip up Tyler Florence's authentic Spaghetti alla Carbonara recipe, a rich tangle of pasta, pancetta and egg, from Food Network.
Provided by Tyler Florence
Categories main-dish
Time 25m
Yield 4 to 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking to ensure that the spaghetti will be hot and ready when the sauce is finished; it is very important that the pasta is hot when adding the egg mixture, so that the heat of the pasta cooks the raw eggs in the sauce.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender yet firm (as they say in Italian "al dente.") Drain the pasta well, reserving 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water to use in the sauce if you wish.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium flame. Add the pancetta and saute for about 3 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the fat is rendered. Toss the garlic into the fat and saute for less than 1 minute to soften.
- Add the hot, drained spaghetti to the pan and toss for 2 minutes to coat the strands in the bacon fat. Beat the eggs and Parmesan together in a mixing bowl, stirring well to prevent lumps. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the egg/cheese mixture into the pasta, whisking quickly until the eggs thicken, but do not scramble (this is done off the heat to ensure this does not happen.) Thin out the sauce with a bit of the reserved pasta water, until it reaches desired consistency. Season the carbonara with several turns of freshly ground black pepper and taste for salt. Mound the spaghetti carbonara into warm serving bowls and garnish with chopped parsley. Pass more cheese around the table.
THE BEST CARBONARA
Now this is our idea of comfort food. Creamy and rich, it's the quintessential dish for a chilly evening. We like to splurge every once in a while and add a knob of butter to the cheesy egg sauce just to round it out. We've left that option up to you, however. Either way, we can't think of a more classic or satisfying pasta dish.
Provided by Food Network Kitchen
Categories main-dish
Time 20m
Yield 4 to 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
- Whisk together the eggs, yolks, Parmesan, Pecorino, pepper and butter if using in a large bowl until well combined.
- Add the pasta and cook as the label directs. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain the pasta.
- Meanwhile, cook the pancetta in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Add the spaghetti and half the reserved pasta cooking water to the skillet and toss to combine.
- Add the egg mixture and toss to coat. Cook, tossing continuously to avoid scrambling the eggs, until the sauce is creamy, thinning it with the remaining pasta water if it becomes too thick (it should be saucy but not watery), about 1 minute.
- Divide the pasta among plates and sprinkle with more grated Parmesan.
AUTHENTIC PASTA CARBONARA
I learned on my culinary internship in Tuscany that real Italian cuisine is simpler than you think! This carbonara is quick, simple and delicious, just the way they like it in Italy. -Lauren Brien-Wooster, South Lake Tahoe, California
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Dinner
Time 35m
Yield 8 servings.
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- In a large saucepan, cook pasta according to package directions for al dente. Drain pasta, reserving pasta water; keep pasta warm. In same pot, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, stirring occasionally. Add peas; cook until just heated through., Add pasta to pot; toss to combine. Stir in remaining ingredients, adding enough reserved pasta water for sauce to reach desired consistency. If desired, serve with additional cheese.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 353 calories, Fat 12g fat (4g saturated fat), Cholesterol 65mg cholesterol, Sodium 326mg sodium, Carbohydrate 46g carbohydrate (3g sugars, Fiber 3g fiber), Protein 14g protein.
ULTIMATE SPAGHETTI CARBONARA RECIPE
Discover how to make superb spaghetti carbonara. This cheesy pasta dish is an Italian favourite and with the right technique, you can make it perfect every time
Provided by Angela Nilsen
Categories Dinner, Main course
Time 35m
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Put a large saucepan of water on to boil.
- Finely chop the 100g pancetta, having first removed any rind. Finely grate 50g pecorino cheese and 50g parmesan and mix them together.
- Beat the 3 large eggs in a medium bowl and season with a little freshly grated black pepper. Set everything aside.
- Add 1 tsp salt to the boiling water, add 350g spaghetti and when the water comes back to the boil, cook at a constant simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until al dente (just cooked).
- Squash 2 peeled plump garlic cloves with the blade of a knife, just to bruise it.
- While the spaghetti is cooking, fry the pancetta with the garlic. Drop 50g unsalted butter into a large frying pan or wok and, as soon as the butter has melted, tip in the pancetta and garlic.
- Leave to cook on a medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the pancetta is golden and crisp. The garlic has now imparted its flavour, so take it out with a slotted spoon and discard.
- Keep the heat under the pancetta on low. When the pasta is ready, lift it from the water with a pasta fork or tongs and put it in the frying pan with the pancetta. Don't worry if a little water drops in the pan as well (you want this to happen) and don't throw the pasta water away yet.
- Mix most of the cheese in with the eggs, keeping a small handful back for sprinkling over later.
- Take the pan of spaghetti and pancetta off the heat. Now quickly pour in the eggs and cheese. Using the tongs or a long fork, lift up the spaghetti so it mixes easily with the egg mixture, which thickens but doesn't scramble, and everything is coated.
- Add extra pasta cooking water to keep it saucy (several tablespoons should do it). You don't want it wet, just moist. Season with a little salt, if needed.
- Use a long-pronged fork to twist the pasta on to the serving plate or bowl. Serve immediately with a little sprinkling of the remaining cheese and a grating of black pepper. If the dish does get a little dry before serving, splash in some more hot pasta water and the glossy sauciness will be revived.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 655 calories, Fat 31 grams fat, SaturatedFat 16 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 66 grams carbohydrates, Fiber 3 grams fiber, Protein 32 grams protein, Sodium 2.02 milligram of sodium
SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA: THE TRADITIONAL ITALIAN RECIPE
This dish was created in the Lazio region (the area around Rome) in the middle of the 20th century, after World War Two. We don't use cream, milk, garlic, onions or other strange ingredients; we use only guanciale, eggs, pecorino cheese, and lots of black pepper (carbonaro is the Italian for coal miner). This isn't the Italian-American version, it's the real, creamy carbonara and it comes right from Italy, where I live. Buon appetito.
Provided by ivan zeta
Categories World Cuisine Recipes European Italian
Time 30m
Yield 4
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add guanciale (see Cook's Note). Cook, turning occasionally, until evenly browned and crispy, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain on paper towels.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until tender yet firm to the bite, about 9 minutes. Drain and return to the pot. Let cool, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
- Whisk eggs, half of the Pecorino Romano cheese, and some black pepper in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Pour egg mixture over pasta, stirring quickly, until creamy and slightly cooled. Stir in guanciale. Top with remaining Pecorino Romano cheese and more black pepper.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 763.7 calories, Carbohydrate 85.1 g, Cholesterol 199.8 mg, Fat 28.4 g, Fiber 3.6 g, Protein 39 g, SaturatedFat 10.1 g, Sodium 1181.6 mg, Sugar 3.4 g
Tips:
- Use high-quality ingredients, especially the eggs and cheese. Fresh, farm-raised eggs and a flavorful, hard cheese like Parmigiano-Reggiano will make a big difference in the taste of your carbonara.
- Don't overcook the eggs. The eggs should be cooked just until they are creamy and slightly thickened, but still a little runny. If you overcook them, they will become tough and rubbery.
- Use the right type of pasta. Spaghetti is the traditional pasta for carbonara, but you can also use other long, thin pasta like linguine or fettuccine.
- Reserve some of the pasta water. The starchy pasta water helps to create a creamy sauce and emulsify the eggs.
- Don't add salt to the pasta water. The saltiness of the cheese and pancetta is enough to flavor the dish.
- Garnish with freshly ground black pepper and more grated Parmigiano-Reggiano before serving.
Conclusion:
Carbonara is a simple but delicious pasta dish that can be made with a few basic ingredients. By following these tips, you can make a carbonara that is creamy, flavorful, and perfectly cooked. So next time you're looking for a quick and easy meal, give carbonara a try!
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