Pasta carbonara is one of those simple dishes everyone should know how to make. It’s the perfect quick dish during the week, but elegant enough for guests.
If you’ve never had homemade pasta carbonara before, you’re in for a real treat! Pasta carbonara is typically made with a creamy sauce using pancetta, garlic, heavy cream, cheese and eggs. The egg-based sauce is cooked by combining it with the piping hot pasta and a little of the cooking water.

With so few ingredients, it seems hard to mess up — but if you’re using the wrong method you can! I loved how Cooks Illustrates cooked their pasta in less water to begin with to really concentrate the starches, which will help bind everything in the sauce and prevent separation when you add it to the egg mixture.

Yummly

Ingredients

10 slices bacon

8 1/2 cups water

4 cloves garlic

1 lb linguine or spaghetti

1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese

3 LG eggs

1 LG egg yolks

1 teaspoon salt

Fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season with salt. Cook pasta according to package. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the pasta water before draining.

2. In a large saucepan, cook bacon (or pancetta) over medium heat until crisp, about 7-10 mins. Drain fat from bacon, reserving 2 tablespoons of the grease.

3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks, eggs, and 1 cup cheese.

4. Toss drained pasta with cooked bacon and 2 tablespoons of bacon grease. Pour egg mixture in, along with reserved pasta water. Mix together with pasta for about 2 minutes.

5. Serve hot with remaining cheese and parsley

HOW TO REHEAT PASTA CARBONARA

It is best to reheat pasta carbonara over the stove, and not in the microwave. Toss pasta in a skillet over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes until heated through. If the pasta appears dry, add olive oil 1 teaspoon at a time until the pasta no longer looks dry.

You may also like: