Pasta Carbonara

It is no secret that I am a HUGE fan of the Pioneer Woman. I have her cook book and swear by her website for recipes. Back a few months ago I tried out this recipe for Pasta Carbonara. It's from her friend Pastor Ryan, a contributor to her blog. We liked it but my execution needed some work so I wanted to try it out again and wouldn't you know, second time is a charm!

Ingredients:
1 pound Bacon Or Pancetta
1 pound Linguine Pasta
1 whole Large Onion
8 cloves (to 12 Cloves) Garlic
1 cup White Wine (or Substitute Another Cup Of Stock)
1 cup Chicken Stock
4 whole Eggs
1-½ cup Parmesan Cheese
1 bunch Parsley
½ sticks Butter
1 Tablespoon (to 2 Tablespoons) Black Pepper

The How To:
First, slice up 1 pound of bacon into pieces about one inch wide. Once they’re sliced, just toss your bacon pieces into a stainless steel pan. Cook until browned and crisp.


While the bacon’s cooking, set a pot of salted water (I use about 2 tablespoon of salt for a gallon of water) on the stove for our pasta. When it comes to a boil add your linguine and cook until al dente, tender-firm.

Next, chop your onion. When the bacon is cooked, scoop it out with a slotted spoon and set it onto a plate. Reserve the bacon grease! We still need that stuff. Throw the diced onions into the bacon grease. Give the onions a quick stir and let them cook down over a medium-high heat for a couple of minutes.


In the meantime, thinly slice the garlic. After the onions have cooked for a couple of minutes, throw in the garlic. Adding it after the onions have cooked a little will prevent the garlic from burning. After the onion and garlic have cooked for another couple of minutes, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon. Discard the grease.

Place the pan back on high heat until it starts to smoke a little. As soon as the pan begins to smoke, pour in the white wine (or chicken stock). Whisk until pan is thoroughly deglazed and all of the brown bits have come off of the bottom of the pan. Add 1 cup of chicken stock. Return bacon, onion and garlic back to the pan. Let simmer over medium heat.

Crack four eggs into a large bowl. Add most of the Parmesan cheese, and rough chop the parsley, adding it into the eggs as well. Leave a little Parmesan and parsley out for a garnish.


Mix well with a fork.


Drain the water from your pasta. Be sure the pasta is very hot. Add the pasta to the egg mixture and then add the bacon/onion mixture. Finally throw a ½ stick (1/4 cup) of butter in there. Mix it all together well. Pepper to taste. Garnish with parmesan and parsley.


The Verdict:
Like I said above, the second time is a charm. I worked out the kinks the first time I made it and all I can say is YUM! It was good the first time but this time it was DELICIOUS! According to the Doc this one is a winner, which is pretty much the best compliment I could get from him! I would highly recommend this dish.

I served it with a salad and some crusty Italian bread. I also didn't have linguine on hand so I used bucatini instead. The key is to under cook the pasta just slightly before al dente!



For better pictures and a step by step process, click on the hyperlink above!