Marco's Spaghetti Carbonara

Brooke's Recipe

In college at JMU, I had a very good friend from Italy named Marco Indelicato.  He was a fellow French major and he was also a very good cook.  During a study session one evening, he decided to see what was in the kitchen to make us a snack.  I was expecting Ramen noodles or cheese and crackers. But oh no..not from an Italian!  Instead I got a pasta dish that to this day is my absolute favorite.  So here is Marco's Spaghetti Carbonara...

Ingredients

8 strips of bacon, diced
1 whole egg
2 additional egg yolks
1/2 cup cream (or milk, but the cream makes it richer)
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 box of spaghetti noodles

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti until al dente. Drain well. Reserve a couple tablespoons of the cooking liquid to temper the eggs. 

Meanwhile in a large skillet, cook chopped bacon until slightly crisp; remove and drain onto paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon fat and put the pan back on the heat.

Beat the eggs and add the cream and Parmesan cheese.  Add a little of the cooking liquid at a time to the egg mixture to bring it up to temperature. You need to do this so that when you add the eggs to the pan, they do not scramble. 

Add cooked and drained spaghetti to the pan with the bacon fat. Toss to coat and heat through. Add the bacon. Add beaten eggs and cook, tossing constantly with tongs until eggs are barely set. Add salt and pepper to taste (remember that bacon and Parmesan are very salty).

Serve immediately with extra Parmesan cheese.

OK...now that you have read the recipe..don't balk at the eggs.  The heat of the pasta cooks them.  Just make sure the eggs are fresh.  Try it, I promise you will thank Marco! 


Marco, The Carbonara Master