Creamy, Rich Carbonara Sauce
Carbonara sauce is another example the uncomplicated approach to food that epitomizes Italian Cooking. There is very little on earth that is more sinfully rich than a good Carbonara: eggs, cream, butter, parmesan cheese and bacon, all in one smooth, creamy concoction over steaming fettucine! And if you thought you could burn those calories by slaving away to make the sauce, then you have my apologies: it is amazingly simple to make!
Having said that, I have yet to order a carbonara in a restaurant and be satisfied. Mind you, I don’t often go to expensive restaurants, but I do travel for work a fair bit and I have had numerous opportunities to order it, but all I seem to get is more examples of how to ruin a perfectly good recipe. I went to one place in Winnipeg that sprinkled bacon bits on my pasta, doused it in oil, and took more time than it would have taken me to shop for the ingredients, find a kitchen to use and make it better myself.
To make a carbonara better than any of the restaurants I have been to, you will need:
1 pound of fettucine (or spaghetti)
4 eggs
1/4 cup of butter, cut into small chunks
1/4 cup heavy cream (really; the lighter stuff just won’t mix right)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese (no, not from a green cardboard tube!)
1/2 pound of bacon, cut into small pieces (remember, they will shrink, so not too small)
1/4 cup chopped parsley (if you can get the Italian variety, all the better!)
Optional: 1 chopped onion (onion goes so well with bacon! But it is not traditional)
Timing is essential in making a carbonara. When making an egg sauce, you cannot cook it with direct heat, or else you will scramble your eggs. You need a large ceramic oven proof dish, which you will preheat to about 300 degrees. After the pasta is cooked, it will go in this dish, and the heat from the dish will be enough to cook the sauce.
Also, it is important that the cream, butter and eggs be at room temperature to start, so make sure these sit out long enough to warm up before starting this dish. Butter will take up to 2 hours or so to soften, so make sure you give it at least that long.
Typically I put my pasta water on to boil, start cooking my bacon, and begin preheating the baking dish all at the same time. It is not a problem if the bacon is done cooking early, as it can sit and drain on some paper towel for a while. If you like your bacon crispy, be sure to read my post on Crispy Bacon; but this sauce is so soft and creamy you might not want your bacon to be too crispy. If you are using a chopped onion, cook it with the bacon to drive your neighbors crazy with jealousy!
Pasta takes anywhere from 7 to 10 minutes to cook, so once your pasta goes in, you have just enough time to prepare your sauce, and then catch up on your reading for about 5 minutes. Beat the eggs together in a large bowl. Add the cream and beat together until mixed. Go read.
When the pasta is done cooking, put it in the preheated baking dish. Toss the pasta as the butter melts into it. Pour the cream and egg sauce over the pasta, and toss it until all the pasta is well covered. Add the bacon (and onions if you have them), parmesan cheese and parsley, toss a bit more, and serve. If you are in the mood, this goes really nicely with a big red wine: Shiraz is my favorite choice.
Yes carbonara is rich, and full of calories, but I think we all deserve a treat every now and then! Especially since we work so hard at cooking, right? Right? Well, maybe not…that was pretty easy!
Yours in Good Taste,
Erik Christensen