Pasta Carbonara is a quick and easy dish that should be a part of everyone’s ‘go to dish’ list. I remember seeing this dish made years ago on the Food Network and thought ‘eggs, pasta, bacon and basil…heaven in a bowl!’.  The dish is easy and simple, but comes across as elegant and is quite delicious. It can be made for one or a large pasta dinner for a crowd. The end result is a smooth and creamy pasta with bits of salty, crunchy bacon. Like a said…heaven in a bowl!

Pasta Carbonara Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 – 2 pieces thick cut slab bacon
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 egg
• 1/4 lb pasta
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tbsp fresh cracked pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 basil leaves

Directions

In a deep sided skillet add the olive oil on medium high and bring to a shimmer. Chop and cube your bacon and add to the pan. Cook till the bacon is crispy, remove and drain. Keep about 2-3 tbsp of the bacon fat/olive oil renderings in the pan and save/discard the rest.

In a pot of salted water, add your pasta (preferably angel hair or spaghetti) and cook till al dente.

While pasta is cooking, mince your garlic. If you’re not a big garlic fan…well I have no words for you…I mean, you can scale back the amount of garlic in the recipe. Also, go ahead and finely chop your basil. Crack your egg into a bowl and add the parmesan, pepper, and Italian seasoning to it and whisk thoroughly. Set to the side, but keep it handy as things will start moving quickly.

When the pasta is done, reserve about 1/4 of a cup of the water and then drain the rest. Now you will need to noodles to remain hot, so you’ll need to move quickly. Turn the pan with the rendered oil up to medium and add the chopped garlic. Saute for about two minutes, being careful to not burn the garlic, just soften. Now add your reserved water and your noodles and cook for a minute, stirring consistently and making sure you get all the bits off the bottom of the pan.

Now remove the pan from the heat and add your egg mixture and stir for about 3 minutes. You want to keep the noodles moving so that it makes a sauce and not scrambled eggs in the pan. The residual heat from the noodles and the pan will be enough to cook your egg through. Then add your bacon in and stir to mix in.

Plate your noodle in a lovely creamy mound in a bowl and top with your basil. Velvety, garlicky, and peppery, this quick pasta dish will always be a pleaser.

This recipe is for 1 large or 2 small servings. If multiplying to make a large pasta dish to share, you can go 3 eggs and 1 cup of parmesan per 4 people.