spaghetti alla carbonara

contrary to popular belief, this type of pasta dish is not [supposed to be] dripping in creamy white sauce.  It is the kind of pasta dish that is moist, yes, because the sauce coats each and every strand of pasta.  and it is kind of tricky to make, especially if you are afraid to undercook the eggs in it.

so once and for all, what we popularly know as carbonara or pasta in white sauce here in the Philippines, is actually different variations of the Alfredo sauce, which naturally became more liked here as we are a people who love food dripping or swimming in sauce.

i will not pretend to be an italian but this is what i'm sure of:  carbonara sauce is basically made up of bacon, eggs, and salt and pepper.  you can add butter, milk or cream and parmesan and probably even fresh peas but take out the bacon and eggs and it ceases to be carbonara.

Alfredo is basically the sauce made of butter and heavy cream.  you can add different ingredients to it but the most popular ones are mushrooms and chicken[preferably slivers of cooked skinless breast meat].

when i stayed in florence [in my late teens, for 5 months, but that story belongs to another blog] we always made pasta alla carbonara because it is fast and cheap  to create.  i never heard of Pasta Alfredo though, so i'm suspecting it did not originate there, i'm leaning on the italian who migrated to the US of A story.  anyways, because of this, i love carbonara more than alfredo, because it brings back memories of me as a young girl in a little italian city, trying to work for a more united world with other young girls coming from different parts of the world.

but enough of the chit-chat, here's the recipe of Spaghetti alla Carbonara, which i cooked today for 2 hungry children who happily gobbled it all up at lunch and at dinner time.

ingrediendts:
450g dried spaghetti
1 tbsp olive oil
225 g lean bacon, chopped
4 eggs
5 tbsp light cream
4 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

steps:

1. bring a large pot with lightly salted water to a rolling boil
2. meanwhile, heat oilve oil in a skillet and add chopped popped bacon, cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 8-10 minutes
3. put pasta in boiling salted water and cook until al dente [firm to the bite], usually 10 minutes
4. beat the eggs with cream in a bowl and season with salt and pepper
5. drain the pasta and return it to the pan, DO NOT RINSE THE PASTA
6. pour in the cooked bacon, the egg mixture and half the parmesan cheese
7. stir well and transfer to a serving dish
8. serve immediately, sprinkled with the remaining parmesan cheese

note:  be careful not to pour the eggs while the fire is still on, this will curdle the eggs, and you will end up with pasta in scrambled eggs, instead of a smooth, creamy coating. the eggs will cook in the residual heat left in the hot pasta.  because of this, timing is key.

p.s.  my lengthy discussion before the recipe was just my o-c-ness kicking in, i just wanted to set things straight.  but please don't let it stop you from adding other ingredients you want like chopped onions and/or mushrooms.  with food, there should be no strict rules to follow.  whatever suits you, as long as it isn't harmful, is perfectly fine.  buon appetito!