As his own mother says, when it comes to spaghetti carbonara Fabio does it best. Pancetta, cream and eggs are frothed to perfection to make a masterpiece sauce for easy noodles in less than 10 minutes. He also shares other easy ways to dress up spaghetti on a dime.
Tips:
- Simple Sauces 101: Pasta is an easy way to feed yourself and your loved ones when your fridge or pantry is almost empty. Keep pasta, olive oil, garlic, butter and Parmesan on hand at all times, and you'll never go hungry again.
- Using eggs in sauces adds a velvety emulsion texture to sauces like hollandaise, and béarnaise, but Carbonara is much easier and less fragile. The trick is to add the eggs to the dish away from the heat and keep things moving.
- The easiest and most reliable way to test dry pasta for doneness is to simply taste it. Al dente literally means "to the tooth!"
Spaghetti Carbonara
Recipe by Fabio Viviani
Yield: 2-4 servings
Ingredients:
½ lb. spaghetti
6 oz. pancetta, cubed
½ cup finely diced onion
2 tbsp. butter
1 cup chicken stock
1 tsp. black pepper
4 egg yolks
2 tbsp. heavy cream
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
additional cracked black pepper, to taste
Method:
Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water al dente: disregard the package directions, or your pasta will be overcooked.
Meanwhile in a large sauté pan over medium heat, crisp pancetta and onion in the butter.
Add the pasta to the pancetta and onion, then add chicken stock and black pepper.
Bring the mixture to a boil.
Mix egg yolk and heavy cream together in a small bowl.
When the sauce is almost reduced, remove from the fire and add egg mixture to the pasta.
Mix constantly until the sauce is thickened, then finish with Parmesan cheese and pepper.
MANGIA!
