spaghetti alla carbonara

spaghetti alla carbonara. tom cruise proclaimed to oprah that this dish is his fav to make. but, i digress. baffling to me that i’ve never made it. this recipe is so simple, so quick and so delicious - it seriously comes together super quick. it doesn’t need any additional salt, there is enough salty taste from the bacon. do yourself a favor and freeze your bacon a bit to make it easy to slice. most of the ingredients you should have in the kitchen already. i used quinoa pasta, semolina pasta is SO yesterday. there is no taste difference from the semolina (traditional everyday) pasta to the quinoa pasta, but, quinoa pasta is easier to digest. that means it’s better for you. make this tonight!

adapted from 20 Minutes or Less

from the book
20-40-60 Fresh Food Fast
by Emeril Lagasse

you'll need:

8 oz quinoa spaghetti pasta (sold at whole foods) or stay un-hip and use semolina pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
3 oz bacon, ¼ slices (that'a ¼ of a 12oz package)
½ yellow onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, put thru a garlic press or finely minced
2 egg yolks, use your hand to separate yolks from white. you do not want any whites.
½ cup grated parmigiano cheese
black pepper, freshly ground
handful of kosher salt for pasta water

you'll do:

bring a large pot of water to a boil. when it comes to a boil, add a handful of salt. add pasta and do not overcook. meanwhile-

heat the oil and butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. add the bacon and cook until almost crisp. add onion and cook until soft. remove from heat and add garlic and stir.

reserve 1 cup of pasta water. drain pasta in colander and return pasta to pot. turn on high heat, add the bacon, onion, garlic mixture and stir until the pasta is coated and mixture is heated through. TURN OFF HEAT.

whisk egg yolks and add to the pasta along with grated cheese. add a bit of pasta water to the mixture to help coat all the spaghetti with the mixture.

add pepper and serve immediately. this does not hold well. so EAT!

if you must reheat: add 2 tablespoons water and cover with cling wrap. microwave on high for 3-4 minutes. reheating results were pretty good, but was much better 1st time around!