Cassie’s Ruminations

Spaghetti Carbonara

This is a classic Italian pasta dish. It has a deceptively simple list of ingredients that produce wonderful results, even if you manage to slightly scramble the eggs like I did 😛 My recipe is a combination of several that I’ve seen over the years. Next time I’ll let the pasta cool a bit more in the skillet before adding the egg mixture. If you don’t have pancetta available, bacon will work just fine. All in all, a very nice Sunday dinner. I served this with a little freshly baked loaf of bread.

Spaghetti Carbonara
Serves 4

1 lb spaghetti
1 tbsp olive oil
3 oz thinly sliced pancetta, cut into ¼ inch strips
4 cloves garlic, pressed
2 eggs
¼ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp black pepper
dash freshly grated nutmeg

Boil water for the spaghetti and add it to the pot. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg and stir to combine. Set aside. When the pasta is about halfway done, add the olive oil and pancetta to a skillet and cook over medium high heat for 4-5 minutes or until the fat is rendered and the pancetta is turning crispy. Drain the pasta and set aside. Add the garlic to the skillet and sauté for another 30 seconds or until soft and fragrant. Remove the skillet from the heat. Dump the pasta into the skillet and toss to combine well. Pour the egg mixture over and toss again quickly to coat. Serve warm.