Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Carbonara... oh, I have a good memory about carbonara.

When I was in college back in Korea, one of my friends who just came back from a trip to Italy told me that the pasta in Italy was horrible! (What???) He told me they added raw egg yolks in spaghetti and let him eat. At that time (late 1990's) in Korea, spaghetti alla carbonara was usually served as a spaghetti dish with lots of bacon, mushrooms & vegetables and a bowl of very liquidy soupy cream. In this context, adding a raw egg yolk in the spaghetti sounds a bit weird to us.

But, time goes by... and now, I am making this weird spaghetti often at home. :) Who knew spaghetti alla carbonara is an acquired taste?

There are several stories about the origin of spaghetti alla carbonara. One story I heard from Chef Cesare Casella was that the spaghetti alla carbonara was invented during the World War II when U.S. Army reached central Italy (Rome). At that time, pancetta-like cured meat was not very popular in that area, but Italians used the ingredients the soldiers are familiar with, such as bacon (pancetta) and egg, to feed them. Bacon and eggs are still an iconic breakfast theme in America... and I think this story makes sense.

Another persuasive story for the origin is that the pasta was a food for charcoal workers as "carbonara" in Italian means "charcoal burner".

Whichever story is true, we can tell spaghetti alla carbonara is not a fancy food but a humble one. A few ingredients with simple cooking process make a hearty spaghetti dish which gives strengths to both soldiers and charcoal workers.

Why don't you try the hearty spaghetti as your weekend dinner to boost you up to start the next week energetically?

Spaghetti alla Carbonara
(Yield: 2 servings / Cooking time: 30 minutes)

Ingredients:
+ spaghetti (~120g, ~60g per serving)
+ water and salt

+ 2 garlic cloves, crushed
+ 85g (~3 ounce) bacon (or pancetta), sliced in 3-5mm (1/8-1/5 inch)
+ 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
+ freshly ground black pepper
+ (optional) pinch of red pepper flake

+ 1 egg yolks
+ 1 Tbsp heavy cream
+ 1/4 cup pecorino romano*
+ 1/4 cup grana padano*



* 1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano can repalce the pecorino romano and grana padano. Pecorino romano and parmigiano reggiano are often used in pasta or salad dish - pecrino romano is made with sheep milk and parmigiano-reggiano is made with cow milk. Each cheese has its character, and it is hard to say in a sentence, but generally, pecorino romano has a little stronger taste and fragrance than parmigiano reggiano. And parmigiano reggiano is saltier and has more complex taste.


Procedures:
1. In a big pot, start boiling water to cook spaghetti.

2. In a pan, add extra virgin olive oil, bacon and crushed garlic cloves (with peel*). Cook until some oil is rendered from bacon over medium heat.


* You can add slices of garlic cloves so you can cook and eat the garlic with spaghetti. I just want to infuse the garlic flavor into the dish, and to do so, add peel together to get lots of garlic scent.

3. When bacon starts to crisp up, turn off the heat and add a pinch of red pepper flake to bloom the pepper flavor into the oil.


4. While the bacon is cooking, water should begin boiling. As water boils vigorously, add enough salt and start cooking spaghetti. Taste spaghetti after 6 minutes and see if it needs more cooking or not. Cook until slightly undercooked because we are going to cook the spaghetti again with bacon in later stage.


5. While the spaghetti is cooking, combine egg yolks, cream, grated cheese and freshly ground black pepper in a bowl, and mix well.


6. When spaghetti is cooked, transfer spaghetti to the pan with bacon / garlic cloves / red pepper flakes. (Reserve the spaghetti cooking water.) Turn on the heat and toss the spaghetti so that spaghetti is well coated with oil. Add 1 or 2 tablespoon of spaghetti cooking water and cook a little bit more.


7. Turn off the heat and discard the garlic cloves & the peel from the pan. Pour the spaghetti and bacon to the bowl with egg yolks + cheese mixture, and mix well until it thickens.


8. Serve hot with little bit of grated cheese on top if you want.


Enjoy~