Carb Diva’s Easy Peasy Pasta Carbonara

Serves 4

Equipment You Will Need

• 1 large pot for boiling the pasta
• 1 colander for draining the pasta
• A large heat-resistant bowl (the one I use is ceramic); it must be large enough to accommodate the colander (the latter nestles in the former)
• A slightly smaller bowl in which to rest the colander while the “magic” happens (I’ll explain that in Steps 5 thru 9 below)
• 1 glass measuring cup (a 1-cup/8 ounce cup is perfect)
• Tongs or a pasta fork/server for tossing the pasta

Ingredients

• 6 slices of bacon, diced
• 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 pound of dry spaghetti pasta

Instructions

1. Cook the diced bacon in a sauté pan over medium heat until crispy-crunchy. Just before the bacon is done to your liking, toss in the minced garlic. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool.
2. Next, whisk together the eggs, pepper, Parmesan, and olive oil in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. While the bacon/garlic is cooling, bring 1 quart (4 cups) of water to a boil over high heat. Yes, I know that seems like “not enough” water, but the reason is this — you want, nay you need starchy water for this recipe to work. Note that I didn’t add salt to the water. The bacon and Parm should add a sufficient amount of saltiness to the finished dish.
4. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally until “al dente.” My co-editor Dim Nikov gives an excellent explanation of that here. For me and the type of spaghetti I purchase, I find that 11 minutes is the sweet spot.
5. OK, the next few steps are where you find the magic, the “aha moment” that brings this all together. Place the colander in the large (ceramic) bowl. Pour the contents of the pasta pot (pasta and water) into the colander.
6. Carefully (everything’s screaming hot) pick up the colander which is holding that glorious cooked pasta, and rest it in the smaller bowl. (It will just be there for a few moments.)
7. Using the measuring cup, scoop up 1/2 cup (or a little more) of starchy pasta water from the large bowl. Set that 1/2 cup of water aside. Dump out the remaining pasta water that remains in the large ceramic bowl.
8. Dump the cooked pasta from the colander back into the large ceramic bowl. That bowl, because it held the starchy pasta water for a minute is now quite warm (almost hot to the touch).
9. Pour 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water into the eggs/Parmesan and stir quickly. The hot pasta water will temper the eggs. Now, pour that eggy/Parmy/watery stuff over the pasta and begin tossing, tossing, tossing. Don’t stop. You’re going to do this for 2 minutes. And, after those 2 minutes the eggy-ness will transform into a comforting creamy-ness. If it seems a little too “tight” (too thick, goopy) feel free to drizzle in some of the remaining 1/4 cup of pasta water in that glass measuring cup.
10. Now, grab that pan of bacon/garlic that has been waiting ever-so-patiently on the sidelines. You thought I’d forgotten about it, didn’t you? Scrape the contents of that pan into your carbonara; give a few more tosses to combine everything and serve to your adoring fans.

There you have it. Pasta carbonara that’s thriftier than the “traditional” but (almost) just as tasty. You have a creamy sauce without the use of cream, and you have silky pasta, not hot noodles with scrambled eggs. What could be better?

Want to add even more Parmesan cheese or an extra grinding of black pepper? I sure won’t complain.

A Few Notes

First, I know that carbonara purists are screaming “Where’s the guanciale?” and “How in Heaven’s name could you use bacon? That’s sacrilege.” I know, I know, I get it. But … not all of us live even remotely close to an Italian deli. I’m trying to make this recipe approachable for the masses.

Second, even more of you (added to those in Note #1) are complaining that I use whole eggs, not the yolks alone. I’m a frugal cook — God knows I hate wasting even a couple of silly egg whites. Again, I’m thinking that not long ago eggs were an economical source of protein for just about any family. In my part of the world the price has more than doubled in just the last year.