How to make Spaghetti Carbonara || Carbonara Recipe
Hi everyone, I’m sharing with you a recipe to make one of my favorite pasta dishes, "Spaghetti Carbonara". It’s a quick and easy pasta dish to make, you only need a few good quality ingredients but it tastes perfect so if you would like to learn how to make this Carbonara recipe then let's get started.
Hi everyone, I’m sharing with you a recipe to make one of my favorite pasta dishes, "Spaghetti Carbonara". It’s a quick and easy pasta dish to make, you only need a few good quality ingredients but it tastes perfect so if you would like to learn how to make this Carbonara recipe then let's get started.
Ingredients To Make Spaghetti Carbonara
The first thing you want to do is get a large pot of water onto the heat so it will boil when we are ready to cook the spaghetti. Traditionally carbonara is cooked with pancetta, if you have that on hand then yes use it, but if you don’t bacon works great too.
Cut the rashers of bacon into thin slices. Place a heavy-based pan, like a cast-iron skillet onto medium heat and add a splash of oil. Once the pan is hot add the bacon and give it a toss. Make sure the pan isn’t too hot that it will brown the bacon quickly. While the bacon is cooking and pasta water is coming to the boil we are going to prepare the sauce for the carbonara.
This is one of the simplest sauces, you only need a few good quality ingredients but they work amazingly together. The main ingredients are eggs, which will give most of the creaminess to this dish. Try to use free-range eggs in this recipe as you will notice a difference. I’m using a whole egg as well as an egg yolk for more richness in flavor.
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| Spaghetti Carbonara |
Next is some parmesan cheese, about a third of a cup finely grated. Try to grate it yourself rather than buying the pre-grated stuff. Add to the bowl with eggs along with some freshly cracked black pepper. This pasta dish doesn’t require any additional salt because of the salt in the bacon. Using a fork gives the sauce mix until everything is well combined.
Don’t worry if you think it’s quite thick, we're going to adding some of the pasta water to thin it out. Check on the bacon and give it a toss. You want it to be quite crispy to add some texture to the spaghetti. To garnish the carbonara and also add some freshness I’m using some Italian parsley. Tear the leaves from the stalks and run a sharp knife over the parsley to chop it finely.
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| Spaghetti Carbonara |
By this point to water for the pasta should have come to the boil. Add a generous amount of salt to season the water and add the spaghetti. I’m using spaghetti in this recipe but you can use any type of pasta you would like, fettuccini is quite popular.
Stir the pasta to make sure it is all covered by the water and cook for about 7 minutes or until al dente. Before straining the spaghetti fill a mug with the pasta water, we are going to use this for the sauce. Drain the spaghetti and add to the skillet with the bacon. Make sure to turn off the heat. Pour about half of the pasta water on the spaghetti and give it a toss with tongs or a pasta spoon.
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The pasta water is rich in starch so it will help the sauce stick to the pasta, while also making the sauce very creamy. Add the sauce we made with eggs earlier to the spaghetti and toss well. It should incorporate well with water, creating a sauce that will start to thicken from the heat of the spaghetti.
When the sauce has thickened, this step is optional, it’s not traditional but I think it gives a great touch to the dish. Add a small amount of cream, not a lot of it will too heavy, just a tablespoon or so and toss the spaghetti well.
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| Spaghetti Carbonara |
The sauce is extremely creamy on its own with just the eggs but the touch of cream gives it a nice touch. Finally, add the chopped parsley and toss through. Serve the carbonara in a bowl, garnished with some parsley. This is a great quick pasta dish to make that is incredibly simple but perfect. Let me know if you give it a go, the recipe will be listed in the information box as well as on my website.
If you would like to see some other pasta recipes, take a look at this Pesto Pasta, or for dessert take a look at this chocolate salted caramel tart. I hope you enjoyed this recipe, thank you for reading and I will see you in my next recipe. Bye.