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Carbonara can be made with various kinds of cheese, different types of pasta, whole eggs or yolks, pancetta or bacon … it seems, in fact, that the only thing that is universally agreed upon is that it should contain black pepper. But even then, some (including miLam) insist that the pepper should be coarsely ground.

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Indulge yourself in all of this flexibility.

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Makes 6 servings

Use whatever cheese(s) you have on hand. If you’re going to buy cheese, consider pecorino Romano, Parmigiano-Reggiano, or a 50/50 mix of the two. Unless you don’t mind eating sawdust, buy a block of cheese and grate it with a food processor, rather than buying it pre-shredded. An 8-oz. block will produce double-plus the volume you need for this recipe, leaving plenty to garnish individual servings and/or to pass at the table.

Carbonara Ingredients:

w/brussels sprouts

Directions:

1. Put a large pot of salted water on to boil, for cooking the pasta. 2. Meanwhile, place the bacon in a large skillet and sauté it over med-high heat until lightly browned, but still chewy, about 9 minutes. 3. Check the amount of rendered fat: 3 to 4 Tbs is ideal. Extract extra, or supplement with olive oil, if necessary. Add onions, and sauté until they are wilted but still crunchy, about 5 minutes. 4. When your pasta water comes to a boil, cook the pasta to al dente, according to package directions. Strain it, but reserve at least a couple cups of the liquid. Return the strained pasta to the now-empty pot. 5. Meanwhile, once the onions are wilted, add chicken stock to the skillet. Bring to a boil, and keep at a lively simmer until reduced by half. How in the hell will you know when it’s reduced by half? Stick the handle-end of a wooden spoon into the liquid. This will give you a wet mark that you can measure against. 6. Pour the contents of the skillet into the pot with the pasta. Use two large spatulas (or whatever) to toss it. Add the yolks, one at a time, tossing until homogenized. Add the cheese, stirring vigorously with a large, strong wooden spoon until it’s fully melted and homogenized. Check consistency. It should be thick and creamy, but not runny. Stir in some of the reserved cooking liquid, if necessary (this is common). Or, cook on lowest heat, stirring constantly, to eliminate excess liquid (this is uncommon). Add pepper (and parsley) and stir. Check to see if it needs salt. 7. Serve immediately on warm plates, each serving garnished with a bit of extra cheese and a sprinkling of extra pepper. You may be surprised at how quickly the finished carbonara will absorb liquid. This is important if the carbonara needs to sit around while your family  – whom you called to dinner several minutes ago – ignores you in favor of a Family Guy rerun. What I like to do is go to the fuse box and cut the power to every room in the house except the kitchen. Very effective and super funny. Meanwhile, even though it was perfect just a few minutes ago, the carbonara now will be too dry. All you need to do, however, is give it a splash of the reserved pasta cooking liquid, stir, and it will return to its glorious glossiness. It’s also important to know that trick if you’re going in for a second helping.  If you have any leftover carbonara that you’re going to store long term, give it just a little bit too much liquid, to make it kind of runny, before you store it. By the time it sits around and then is reheated, it should come back to where it belongs. It’s delicious leftover, and reheats nicely.

Maybe with sprouts:

Carbonara can form a foundation for so many interesting additions. I like to toss it with roasted Brussels sprouts. You can roast them whole, in which case they’re kind of like little meatballs in your pasta. You could halve them. Or you could separate the leaves, toast them using the same method as roasting, but with a shorter bake time, and toss them into your pasta that way.

Sprout Ingredients:

Directions: three slightly different methods

• Ina Garten: basic, delicious. Note: you can mix the sprouts with the oil and seasonings right on the sheet pan, tossing them with a couple rubber spatulas. If you have any sprouts that are notably larger than the rest, cut them in half.
• Whole Foods: similar to Ina’s, but with a couple variations. (Also presents nutritional info.)
• Martha: with rosemary and garlic. This prep lends itself to many kinds of vegetables, from potatoes to tomatoes. You could create a roasted vegetable salad of sorts.

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Notes:

See Also:

different method

with parsley

gorgeous images

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