by Diana Rattray
Spaghetti carbonara is surprisingly easy to fix, and it makes a wonderful meal with garlic bread or a simple salad. The hot pasta will partially cook the eggs, but won’t completely cook them. Pasteurized eggs are recommended for young children, pregnant women, and older adults. If you have a sous vide circulator, you can pasteurize your own eggs. Just sous vide your eggs (in the shell) for 1 1/2 hours at 135 F.
PrintSpaghetti Carbonara
This simple dish is satisfying and delicious. Spaghetti or a similar pasta is tossed with cheese, bacon, and eggs.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Pasta, Bacon
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more, to taste
- 8 ounces spaghetti, perciatelli, or a similar pasta
- 4 strips thick bacon, diced
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- fresh chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley, optional
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with 3 quarts of water and 1 tablespoon of salt and place it over high heat. Bring the water to a boil. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook following the package directions for al dente.
- Meanwhile, put the bacon in a large sauté pan or deep skillet over medium heat and cook until crisp. Drain the bacon on paper towels. Set the pan with the bacon drippings aside.
- In another bowl, combine the egg and egg yolks with 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese; whisk to blend. Add the drained bacon and set aside.
- When the pasta is done, remove about 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta in a colander.
- Add 3/4 cup of the reserved pasta water to the bacon drippings in the skillet and place the pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil.
- Add the drained pasta to the skillet of boiling pasta water; reduce the heat to low and cook for about 1 minute. Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and gradually add the egg, bacon, and cheese mixture. Use tongs or a pasta fork to toss the pasta until the sauce mixture becomes silky. If necessary, add more of the hot pasta water.
- Serve the hot pasta with extra Parmesan cheese and chopped Italian parsley, if desired.
