Recipe: Carbonara with Fettucine

Carbonara is the best meal because it's cheap, easy, and filling. It's one of those things we make when we don't feel like going shopping but want a nice home-cooked meal, which is- let's face it- often. The basic ingredients are eggs, cheese, bacon, and pasta, all things we always have laying around. We generally try to make our own pasta, but this night we were pressed for time so we ran over to Eataly (another place we're lucky to live by) for some fresh Fettuccine. We're not going to lie- fresh pasta makes it SO much better. But this dish is fantastic with boxed pasta too. 

Because the recipe is so simple, we had fun improvising with the ingredients. We had some bacon ends in the freezer (the not-so-pretty-but-cheaper-and-just-as-tasty part of bacon) so we chopped it up into nice chunks of lardon, which added great texture. We also wanted to use a local cheese, so we tried an aged cows milks cheese from Cato Corner Farm called Bloomsday. It was deliciously nutty and a lovely substitute for the traditional Italian cheese. If you're unsure, it's always a good idea to ask the cheese monger- they know what they're talkin' about, and more often than not they'll hand over a few samples!

All in all this meal took about 10 minutes, from start to finish. We'd say: 10 minutes well spent!  

Carbonara with Fettuccine

Adapted from Saveur.com

+ 4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil 

+ 4 oz. bacon ends - we got ours from Flying Pigs Farm at the Union Square Greenmarket
+ 2 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper, plus more
   to taste
+ 1 3⁄4 cups finely grated Parmesan, or similar - we used "Bloomsday" cheese from Cato Corner Farm
+ 1 egg plus 3 yolks - because they will be eaten raw-ish, it's best to get farm fresh eggs

+ salt, to taste
+ 1 lb fresh fettuccine

1. Boil water for the pasta while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
2. Cut the bacon ends up to whatever size you like. We like them on the thicker side- 1 inch strips and ¼ thick. Fry the bacon to your desired crispiness and in the last two minutes throw in 2 tsp of black pepper and a dash of red chili flakes. 

3. Remove the bacon from the pan, along with a little bit of fat, and put it in the dish you'll be serving the pasta in. (You can pour the remainder of the bacon fat into a small Pyrex container or old coffee tin and keep it in the fridge for the next time you need to fry something up.) 

4. In a separate bowl whisk one egg with the three egg yolks and stir in the grated cheese. Pour that mixture into the serving bowl with the bacon.
5. Cook the pasta, making sure to pay special attention to the directions on the package. (Fresh pasta only takes 3 minutes or so, while boxed pasta takes around 8 depending on the shape.) 
6. Drain the pasta when it's ready, reserving a little water. Mix the pasta into the serving bowl and toss with the rest of the ingredients. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Feel free to add a little of the reserved pasta water if you feel the sauce needs thinning out. 

Serves 4-ish.