Pasta Carbonara with Bacon
Pasta Carbonara with Bacon is my easy go-to dish when I am out of time and out of ideas. That said, it is delicious, so there is no compromise there. Often I will serve this on a Sunday night or a busy weeknight when I haven’t planned a menu of what to eat. There is never any complaining when I announce this is what we are eating though! My husband loves it, my kids and my whole family love it; what’s not to love when there is bacon and pasta in a creamy sauce??
You can whip this up in about 20-25 minutes, so get the pasta water on the stove and heating up before you start the sauce. I like to have all of my ingredients chopped and staged up on the front end. Actually, that is good advice to cooking or baking anything, period. Whenever I start a dish, I read over the recipe and get things chopped, measured, pre-cooked and otherwise prepped. That way, things move along so much quicker. It also makes cleanup easier as I put everything I use to measure, chop, etc. right into the sink as I go.
And– it goes without saying, but repeating — always use the best quality ingredients you can for the best flavor. This is particularly important when there are only a few ingredients. Using good quality cheese in a dish like this is ALWAYS a must. My mother in law told me that hard Italian cheeses that are old and/or poor quality will taste soapy. She told me that years ago, and after she pointed it out, I began to notice it. Now that I have pointed it out, you may begin to notice it too. Sorry, but it really is true!
Serve this Pasta Carbonara with Bacon all by itself, topped with crumbled bacon, parsley and more parmesan. Or with a simple green salad like my Favorite Italian Green Salad with Avocado and some bread. If you want to try another version of this carbonara, you might also like my Sausage Carbonara made with spicy Italian Sausage.
Pasta Carbonara with Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 pound vermicelli or spaghetti
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 4 pieces bacon
- 2 large cloves garlic minced
- pinch red pepper flakes or to taste
- 2 large egg yolks lightly beaten
- 1 cup freshly grated parmeggiano reggiano plus more for serving
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- ¼-½ cup heavy cream
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 handful parsley finely chopped, for serving
- ½-1 cup pasta water reserved from cooking pasta
Instructions
- Put a large pot of salted water on the stove; bring to a boil. Meanwhile, heat up a large skillet on the stove and add the olive oil. Cook the bacon until browned and crispy; remove from pan and drain on paper towels. When cool, crumble and set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix the beaten egg yolks with the parmesan cheese, stirring well to prevent lumps.
- When the water is boiling, put the pasta in the pot and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente.
- Turn the heat down in the skillet to medium low heat, toss the garlic into the hot pan with the oil and bacon fat and saute for less than one minute, to soften. Add the butter.
- Now add the hot al dente pasta to the skillet –I use tongs to move the pasta directly from the pasta pot into the skillet. Using the tongs, toss the pasta around for about 2 minutes to coat the strands with the fat in the pan. Add ¼ cup cream.
- Remove from heat and pour in the egg/cheese mixture along with some of the reserved pasta water. Stir very quickly until the eggs thicken. Thin out the sauce with more of the reserved pasta water and a bit more cream if necessary to reach desired consistency.
- Season the pasta with the black pepper, taste to see if it needs salt. To serve, place the carbonara into serving bowls and garnish with the crumbled bacon, the parsley and more freshly grated cheese. Mangia!