Description
Spaghetti carbonara is a perfect for an alfresco dinner party. It’s quick, it requires only a few ingredients, and most importantly – it’s sure to please your guests.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 lb linguine or thick spaghetti
- 2 tbsp salt (for cooking pasta)
- 1 lb bacon, cooked and diced
- 1 tbsp bacon grease, reserved from cooking bacon
- 1 large shallot, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, diced
- 3 eggs, pasturized variety
- 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish
- freshly ground black peper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add two tbsp salt and the pasta. Cook until al dente following the time instructions on the package (usually about 8 minutes)
- Meanwhile, add reserved bacon grease and olive oil to a large skillet. Sautee shallots over medium heat until soft and fragrant (approx 5 minutes). Add garlic and sautee 2 more minutes. Turn off burner.
- Whisk the eggs in large serving bowl.
- When pasta is ready, drain and transfer cooked pasta to skillet with the shallots and garlic. Toss the pasta to coat with onion/garlic mixture and then empty the skillets content into the serving bowl with the eggs. Toss the pasta in the egg mixture. As the hot pasta is coated in beaten egg, the heat will cook the eggs.
- Sprinkle the bacon, 1/3 cup chopped parsley, and Parmesan cheese over the pasta and toss.
- Sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper to taste.
- Serve with extra grated parmesan, parsley, and black pepper.
Notes
I prefer to make this dish with linguine or bucatini (a very thick spaghetti)
Tip: Carbonara should be served immediately after it’s ready. When I’m making carbonara for guests, I do all the prep work in advance (e.g., cook and chop the bacon, mince the shallot and garlic, chop the parsley, grate the parmesan, and fill a large pot with water.) About 30 minutes before we want to eat, I slip away to start the pasta water boiling. Once the water is boiling it will take about 10 minutes to whip everything together.