Recipe - Pasta Carbonara

I first heard of pasta carbonara in a restaurant when I was younger but I first learned of the dish and how to make it while in the Italian speakers' club in college. We had a cultural night where one of the Italian professors showed us how to make the authentic version and gave us a little historic insight into how the dish was created. I've since looked it up online and am not sure if his story really was true or just a tale they tell each other about the dish's origin. Either way, it was entertaining but what stuck most with me was just how dang easy the recipe was! Pasta carbonara is nothing more than just a few ingredients of pasta, pancetta (Italian bacon to some), garlic, egg, and cheese. How awesome is that? Well Duc has been pestering me to make some lately so I decided to finally commit after finding a great deal on pancetta. As I said, it's really simple and for me, I did it all in one pot! Yay for less cleaning right? The recipe's below and yum yum, might I say that his pictures are GORGEOUS for this post? It's probably because he loved the dish so much. The egg is cooked by the heat of the pasta itself and forms a nice creamy texture without scrambling - perfetto!

Step 1: Ingredients (yields 4 servings)

• 1 package angel hair pasta, 12 oz.
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 5 oz pancetta, cubed
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 4-5 cloves garlic, sliced
• 3 large eggs
• 4 oz shredded Parmesan cheese + additional for topping
• chopped parsley, to garnish
• freshly ground black pepper, to garnish

Step 2: Preparing ingredients
This recipe is fairly fast-paced, especially if you will be doing it in one pot as I did. Boil water for angel hair pasta. While waiting for that, slice garlic and dice onions. Whisk together eggs and cheese in a separate bowl. Add pasta to boiling water. When cooked to al dente (8-10 minutes), drain in colander.

Step 3: Mixing ingredients
Pour olive oil into same pot as pasta was in on high heat. Add in pancetta and onions; cook until onions become translucent. Add garlic and stir around for about 2 minutes. Then add in hot pasta and stir to coat with pancetta fat. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese and egg mixture off the heat until well incorporate - egg will cook but not scramble.


Step 4: Finishing
Plate and add on chopped parsley to your liking. Grind fresh black pepper over the top and sprinkle on additional shredded Parmesan. Enjoy!


Photography by Duc Duong.