Carbonara yummy yummy

The first steps for any cook has to be pasta, and there is no better dish to satisfy everybody’s expectations than the carbonara. I have had the chance to see several ways of cooking this Italian classic, but it wasn’t until I arrived to Roma where some friends showed me how this dish was properly done. I take the opportunity also to say something obvious, and Italians do know how to cook pasta, and they do it well, although I have observed that they are very strict with some artistical variations on their dishes, translating into an offense any possible change in the recipe. I hope they know how to forgive me for this. In Spain, we usually cook it with cream. This variant frightens to the death Italians, but in my opinion, it gives a creamy texture that it is not obtained only with the egg.

INGREDIENTS:

• Half finely chopped onion.


• 4 spoonfuls of cream.


• 200gr of bacon.


• 200gr of FRESH GRATED parmesan. It is very important to be fresh grated cheese. This way the cheese is not dry and flavourless.


• 2 egg yolks.


• Nutmeg


• 250gr of Tortiglioni.

PREPARATION:

In a big pot we cook the pasta following the instructions on the package. In a pan, with a spoonful of olive oil, we cook the onions at medium heat. We’ll try not to add any salt, as the bacon and the parmesan are already quite salty. Once the onions have a nice golden colour, we add the bacon and we let it cook for 3 minutes. We do not want the bacon to be crispy, but better if it is tender.

This step is the one that frightens the hell out of any Italian, so, if you want to follow their tradition, skip it. Add some cream and nutmeg with the onions and bacon and let it cook for a while.

Once the pasta is ready, we strain it and we add the sauce. While the pasta is still hot, we mix the egg yolks and a handful of grated parmesan. We mix everything so the pasta gets covered with the sauce and the yolks break and cook with the heat of the pasta.

A nice trick for presenting the dish is to cut some parmesan leafs with the potato peeler, so it looks like parmesan chips.

BON PROFIT!