Is there anything better than comfort food? I mean really think about it and get back to me if you can think of anything greater than eating a deliciously comforting meal on a cold day in winter and then sinking into a half food coma on the couch after. Sometimes your food needs to be a warm hug, this week was one of those times.
Let me preface this week's recipe with a gentle reminder that I am not what one would define as a ~healthy~ cook. Yeah, sometimes the food I make happens to be healthy; but if you are looking for low-fat, calorie cutting anything, you are searching in the wrong place my friend. I am all for food that makes us feel good; physically and emotionally. This dish is definitely one of those that will make you feel emotionally soothed, while leaving the physical aspect up for debate. But in this blog we applaud food that makes us smile; so that's all I'll say about that.
I have a special attachment to pasta which I am sure those of you who have been avid readers are fully aware. And while my go-to pasta dish to make is bolognese (check out my post about it!), my go-to pasta dish to eat and order at a restaurant is Carbonara (yes it deserves a capital C); which is in fact what we made this week. I like to think of myself as a pretty brave cook, I'll try to make something at least once before putting it in the "not for Kate" bucket. However, when it came to carbonara I was fairly convinced that I would not be able to do it. Something about the trying not to scramble the eggs aspect felt like something I would very much end up doing; so I steered clear.
This fear persisted until one of my lovely friends taught me how to make this dish a few months ago (Christian, if you're reading this, I owe you my life). But, I must give credit where credit is due, so I believe my friend learned it from his roommate; needless to say this pasta recipe has a history. Which makes it feel pretty special to me.
If you, too, find yourself terrified of attempting this wonderfully cheesy, creamy (sans cream of course), instant warmth in your belly pasta dish; trust me, you can do this. Have I ever steered you wrong before?
Okay, here's all you need:
- Pasta: obviously. And while it pains me to say this, you really don't need to make fresh pasta here. You want just a traditional spaghetti noodle size and boxed/dried will honestly work a bit better. (Italians out there, forgive me).
- Bacon or pancetta: pancetta is a little better in my humble opinion but bacon will do wonderfully. Cut either up into fairly small cubes.
- A-friggin-lot of Parmasean cheese: yes, that is the technical measurement we are using here because you can add as much cheese as feels good in that moment.
- Eggs: depending on how much pasta you are making the number may vary. I made about a whole box of noodles and used 2 eggs which ended up being perfect.
- HEALTHY dose of pepper
- 2ish cloves minced garlic
Listen, I love you guys. But if anyone dreams of adding a splash of cream to this dish we will have issues. It doesn't have cream, it should never have cream, if you want to add cream; don't.
Here's what to do:
In a medium skillet crisp your bacon or pancetta: get it pretty crispy because nobody wants to bite into a piece of flimsy bacon; if you do, let's talk.
As you're doing this, cook your pasta. (don't forget to salt the water; salty as the ocean!)
Remove bacon from pan and turn heat off.
Throw your garlic in and cook it down a little
Once your noodles are al dente (not quite fully cooked), put them into the bacon pan with the garlic. The pan will still be warm, which we want.
IMPORTANT: save about a cup of pasta water. This is what will bring the sauce together so remember to save some.
Once your noodles are in, add in your cheese and half a cup of pasta water and start to incorporate into noodles.
As you mix, crack in your eggs while continuously stirring your noodles.
Get a little funky with it and see how the sauce comes together. If it seems too stodgy; add more pasta water. If it doesn't seem creamy enough; add more cheese. You are an artist and this pasta is your canvas!
Finally, add back in your bacon and add your pepper. Lots and lots of pepper. Borderline, but not quite, too much pepper. (use salt with a lot of reservation; remember we have bacon and cheese at this party already so we probably don't need more salt).
If you want to add peas into this, that's cool. I won't, because this dish is supposed to comfort and peas decidedly do not comfort me.
I hope you are warmed from the inside out by this dish this week, I hope it helps you impress that new person you're dating, or is a nice cushion after a really hard day. Whatever it does, let it fill you! Because you, my dear reader, deserve to be filled.
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