An easy and delicious pasta dish, Spaghetti alla Carbonara is sure to impress. With its silky smooth and cheesy egg sauce combined with the salty goodness of fresh pancetta, and flavorful punch of freshly cracked pepper, you cannot go wrong with this stunning and simple dish.

Carbonara got its roots, as an inexpensive pasta dish in the post-WWII era, when American forces issued starving Italian citizens rations of bacon and powdered eggs, according to  goodfoodstories.com

Without further adieu, Carbonara:

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Cooking Equipment needed

Large bowl

Medium-Large sauté pan

Pepper Grinder

8 qt Stock Pot

Tongs (for non- stick pans)

Chef Knife

Cutting boards

Whisk

Cheese grater

Colander/strainer

Rubber Spatula (optional)

Food Chopper (optional)

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Ingredients:

2 whole eggs

4 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese (or any other hard, white, Italian cheese, such as Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano)

2 Tbsp olive oil

6 oz  pancetta sliced 1/8″ thick, then cut into 3/4″ square pieces (or bacon if you cannot find pancetta)

2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh garlic

1/4 cup finely chopped shallots

1/4 cup finely chopped Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

Freshly cracked black pepper, as needed

1 cup of starchy pasta water (reserved from cooking spaghetti)

6 qt water

3 tbsp salt

1 lb dried spaghetti

Grated Parmesan for garnish (optional)

A few leaves of Italian Parsley for garnish

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Let’s get started

First, add 2 whole eggs and 4 egg yolks to a bowl

Lightly beat the eggs with a whisk

Then, add 1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Mix together with a whisk

Cover this mixture and set aside in a cool area.

Bring 6 quarts of water, salted with 3 Tbsp of table salt (you can use sea salt, just use a little less, let’s say 2 Tbsp)

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Now heat a medium-large sized sauté pan over medium-high heat.

Add 2 Tbsp olive oil, and then add your 6 oz of square-cut pancetta.

At this point, your water should be boiling, and its time to add your spaghetti.

Make sure to evenly distribute the pancetta, and to use a pan large enough that it is not too crowded in the pan

Add 10-12 turns of freshly cracked black pepper to the pan

Cook until pancetta just starts to brown, and then add 2 Tbsp finely chopped garlic, and 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots. Stir often to avoid burning.

Cook until the garlic starts to brown and then remove from heat.

Place the pancetta, garlic, and shallots mixture into a large bowl, making sure to scrape as much of the brown bits from the bottom of the pan as possible

Make sure to reserve one cup of the starchy pasta water, used to cook the Spaghetti. Be careful, the pasta water will be hot, as will the steam.

Once the spaghetti is al dente (cooked but still firm), strain and add cooked noodles to pancetta mixture in bowl.

Using some tongs, quickly toss spaghetti with pancetta, until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed. This step is key, as you will remove just enough of the heat to keep the eggs from scrambling when you add them to form the sauce.

Add the egg and cheese mixture from earlier, and thoroughly mix with tongs.

Next, add a splash of the water you reserved from earlier, this will help form the sauce, and make it silky and smooth. Do not add the full cup just yet. Keep mixing.

Add an additional half cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese, and continue mixing.

Add 1/4 cup of finely chopped parsley, and keep mixing.

Continue adding some of the reserved pasta water, while mixing everything together. You should continue to add water until the sauce is smooth and silky, and the noodles are “slippery.”  IF you happen to add too much and make it watery, you can add just a little cheese to thicken the sauce back up.

At this point add another 10-12 turns of freshly cracked black pepper, mix thoroughly.

Use some tongs to twirl the pasta, and mound in the center of a plate.

Top  with freshly grated parmesan.

Finally, garnish with a few leaves of Italian parsley.

Congratulations, you just made a delicious, gourmet Italian pasta dish!!!