Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

Ah, carbonara. Probably one of my favorite Italian dishes! And carbonara and I have had a long and lovely relationship - we've run into one another all over the world!

My first introduction to carbonara was probably in the US somewhere, and I loved the dish for its simplicity. Pasta, bacon, cream sauce. How can you go wrong? Quiznos has a carbonara sub with mushrooms that is to die for, proof that carbonara is good in any form. Mmmm.

In Italy, I actually went to the restaurant credited with inventing carbonara. Of course, considering the fact that every gelato place in Rome seems to claim it is responsible for that tasty treat, I'm not sure how authentic that is. However, the main point to this is that carbonara in Italy is delicious. It's simpler, in that it has no bacon and a really light, barely-there sauce. But still, tasty.

Surprisingly, even when I was abroad, studying in Japan, carbonara made an appearance. The Japanese are masters of making instant meals that are actually really tasty. Forget the instant ramen we have here. Japanese instant food is fantastic, and has never steered me wrong. When I was at the grocery store for the first time, I saw an instant carbonara bowl. How could I not try it? It was an excellent decision, by the way! It rivaled the flavor of pasta I've ordered in restaurants (no, really). I had that for lunch roughly once a week for the whole time I was abroad. 

So, now that I have the power to make my own carbonara, I had to give it a try! I added a little extra to the recipe, since I felt that minced garlic is sort of a requirement when cooking Italian food. Without further ado, here you go! 

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

Source: Everyday Italian

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. dry spaghetti (about 1 large handful)
• 1 T. olive oil
• 4 slices bacon
• 2 eggs
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2.5 T. half and half
• 2 T. grated parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper

Before you start:Chop your bacon slices into small pieces and peel and mince your garlic cloves. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a lot of salt.

Recipe

Add pasta to boiling water and cook until tender.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet, and add bacon. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, then add garlic. Cook for another 3-5 minutes until crisp, then remove from heat.
In a small bowl, beat eggs, half and half, and salt and pepper until combined.
When pasta is done, drain and put back into pot. Add bacon and garlic and olive oil along with the egg mixture and 1 T. parmesan cheese. Whisk well for a few minutes to cook the egg.
Serve immediately with parmesan cheese on top.

Thanks for reading and happy cooking!