Carbonara

This is a recipe from Rachael Ray that I have been making for years. I have always made it with regular bacon because I was too cheap to buy pancetta, but I finally broke down and bought a chunk of it. It was $10! I would not normally buy food that's so expensive, but I cut it into four chunks and froze three for future use. Totally worth it.

This dish is basically like eating bacon, egg, and cheese with pasta for dinner. It satisfies every craving, I promise. My only advice is to go easy on added salt, because the meat and cheese are already high in salt. In fact, I wouldn't add any, especially if you are using pancetta. Also, I browned the pancetta much longer than two minutes because I like my bacon well done. It was more like 15 minutes on medium heat.

A couple other tips:

*Add the garlic with only a couple minutes to go, because burnt garlic ruins a dish.
*Reserve a mug of pasta cooking liquid to loosen dish if necessary.
*Be prepared to work quickly when putting it together at the end.


Enjoy!

Carbonara

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 pound pasta, such as spaghetti or rigatoni

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (enough to coat bottom of pan)

1/4 pound pancetta (Italian bacon), chopped

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

5 to 6 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 large egg yolks

Freshly grated Romano cheese

Handful of finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
Directions:
1. Put a large saucepot of water on to boil. Add a liberal amount of salt and the pasta. Cook to al dente, about 8 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and pancetta. Brown pancetta 2 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and garlic and cook 2 to 3 minutes more. Add wine and stir up all the pan drippings.
3. In a separate bowl, beat yolks, then add 1 large ladleful (about 1/2 cup) of the pasta cooking water. This tempers the eggs and keeps them from scrambling when added to the pasta.
4. Drain pasta well and add it directly to the skillet with pancetta and oil. Pour the egg mixture over the pasta. Toss rapidly to coat the pasta without cooking the egg. Remove pan from heat and add a big handful of cheese, lots of pepper, and a little salt. Continue to toss and turn the pasta until it soaks up egg mixture and thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Garnish with parsley and extra grated Romano.

Read more: Rachael Ray Recipes - Carbonara Recipe by Rachel Ray - Good Housekeeping