Coaching Cooking

I’ve wanted to make this dish for years and somehow today is the day for pasta carbonara. I love the idea of a creamy pasta with bacon (or pancetta), silky eggs, garlic or onion and parsley.

So, without further ado, Pasta Carbonara a la Jenny:

**Note**: This recipe includes raw eggs that will be cooked partially by hot pasta. If you are concerned about food safety please use pasteurized eggs or omit the eggs and use heavy cream and butter instead.

Ingredients:

1/4 lb. of lean bacon or pancetta, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
2 cloves of garlic, chopped in a medium-dice
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1/2 cup of dry white wine (I used a sauvignon blanc with equally good results)
1/2 cup of chopped flat leaf parsley
2 eggs (or a 1/2 cup of heavy cream and 2-3 tablespoons of melted butter)
1/2 cup of freshly shredded parmesan plus extra shredded cheese for serving
1 pound of thin spaghetti

Directions:

Prepare all of the ingredients. Shred the parmesan and set aside:

Using a non-stick pan, heat the 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and sautee the bacon or pancetta until browned. Then add the white wine and reduce this mixture by half. Add the garlic and saute for about one minute so all the flavors are combined.

Remove this mixture from the heat and set aside.

While the bacon-wine mixture reduces, put a large pot of water to boil and add a few generous pinches of salt when the water boils.
Prepare the egg mixture by beating the two eggs in a large bowl and then whisking in the parsley and 1/4 cup of the shredded parmesan cheese. Set the egg mixture aside.

Cook the pasta according to the box directions, but make sure the cooked pasta is al dente (with a little bite!). Drain the pasta well and immediately add to the egg mixture, tossing the pasta and egg mixture vigorously so all of the pasta is coated. Then add the bacon-wine mixture. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan and toss the pasta and ingredients together. Serve immediately with the extra parmesan cheese. This pasta goes very well with a roasted green vegetable such as brussel sprouts, broccoli, or asparagus. Buono appetito!

Leftovers Note**: This pasta carbonara reheats well on a low microwave setting (too high of a setting will cause the egg mixture to cook further and the pasta will taste tough). AB suggests reheating pasta carbonara, the next day, with a little water to replace the lost moisture from storing it in the fridge.