Tuesday, June 28, 2011

New Recipe - Spaghetti Carbonara

As listed in my summer goals (which you can read, HERE), I want to try at least one new recipe each week.  This is probably a good life practice, but let's be honest people - sometimes you have a crazy week and you just want to make easy stuff you know how to cook.  Anyway, I tried Spaghetti Carbonara recently and it's easy, light, and scrumptious.  I found the recipe at Allrecipes.com, a website I highly recommend if you don't use it already.  Why? you ask...

1. They have an online recipe box (which most cooking websites do these days)
2. Easy to navigate
3. People comment on the recipes, giving suggestions for alterations
4. Every 4 or 5 star recipe I've tried from this website has been good.
5. You can alter the number of servings you need and it automatically calculates ingredients amounts for you - good feature for those of us who majored in something like music ;)
6. Lots of ideas for cooking on a budget!!

Anyway, here's the recipe (including the modifications I made, which I thought were tasty) enjoy!

Ingredients (serves 6-8)

  • 1 pound spaghetti
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 8 slices bacon, diced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine (optional)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 pinch salt and black pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

  1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti pasta until al dente. Drain well. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and set aside.
  2. Meanwhile in a large skillet, cook chopped bacon until slightly crisp; remove and drain onto paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon fat; add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and heat in reused large skillet. Add chopped onion, and cook over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add minced garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add wine if desired; cook one more minute. 
  3. Beat eggs in separate bowl, then add grated parmesean. Mix well.
  4. Return cooked bacon to pan; add cooked and drained spaghetti. Toss to coat and heat through, adding more olive oil if it seems dry or is sticking together. Add eggs and parmesean mix, tossing constantly with tongs or large fork. Add salt and pepper to taste (remember that bacon and Parmesan are very salty).
  5. Serve immediately with chopped parsley sprinkled on top, and extra Parmesan cheese at table.