Recipe: Pasta Carbonara with Fresh Herb Toss
Herb Pouf:
- 2 tablespoons picked tiny leaves of Italian parsley
- 1½ teaspoons picked tiny leaves of fresh oregano
- 1 tablespoon very thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons ½-inch pieces fresh chives
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Pasta Carbonara:
- 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons finely grated, very high-quality Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 2 eggs
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 8 ounces dry, high-quality spaghetti
- 4 slices bacon, diced ¼-inch
- 1/3 cup finely chopped white onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
1. Prepare the herb salad first by prepping the herbs, then tossing them together in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until needed. (You can do this up to 1 day in advance.) Have the rest of the ingredients measured out and ready before you start cooking the pasta. Start a large pot of water boiling for the pasta.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whisk together 1/3 cup cheese, eggs, salt and pepper, and set aside.
3. When ready to start making the sauce, add the spaghetti to the boiling water at a full boil. Poke down into pot and then set timer for about 12 minutes, or package-recommended cooking time.
4. Start the sauce by heating a large nonstick skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and, moving pieces around pan, cook until crispy, about 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove bacon from pan to a small bowl. Add onions to drippings in pan and increase heat to medium-high. Cook until onions are tender, about 2 minutes. Add garlic to pan and stir around to just soften — about 30 seconds (do not brown garlic). Add white wine, and cook down until reduced by half. Add cream, bring to a boil and reduce liquid by half — sauce should be nice and creamy at this point. Remove pan from heat while you finish cooking and draining pasta.
5. When pasta is cooked al dente, reserve a little pasta cooking water, then drain well in a strainer, shaking out any excess water. Quickly add to bowl of egg mixture, and toss together well with tongs. Then add coated pasta back to pan of sauce, along with reserved bacon, and toss all together well with sauce. Place pan back on burner on medium-high heat to make sure pasta is heated through and sauce is coating pasta well. (At this point you don't want to overcook sauce, as eggs will become scrambly and sauce may get too reduced. If sauce becomes too thick, add a small amount of reserved pasta cooking water to it.)
6. Divide spaghetti between 2 plates or large pasta bowls, then sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons of cheese. Drizzle bowl of herbs with the 2 teaspoons of olive oil, mix and place a "pouf" in the center of each plate of pasta. Serve immediately.
©2004 Kathy Casey Food Studios®
Editor's note: Eggs that are not cooked completely are not recommended for pregnant women, children, the elderly or anyone with immune-deficiency diseases.