Pasta Carbonara is a meal everyone needs in their arsenal. Simple ingredients you already have in your pantry, combined in an unusual way, creating a uniquely delicious pasta dish that the whole family will love.
Much to my family’s sadness, pasta doesn’t make it’s way to our table very often. I just don’t really love it. I do love my version of Baked Ziti and pasta with this super easy and light Alfredo Sauce. But I don’t think I’ve made spaghetti in my life. Pasta just isn’t really my love language.
But this Pasta Carbonara? With it’s unique cheesy sauce, studded with big chunks of bacon, and topped generously with more parmesan cheese? Oh yeah, baby. And it’s done in less than 30 minutes, from start to finish. No oven required, only 2 pans to wash, and both of my kids gobbled it up. When it’s dressed up like this, I think pasta is going to be on our table a lot more often.
My sister introduced me to the concept of Pasta Carbonara. Raw eggs and cheese are tossed with hot pasta, to cook the eggs and coat the noodles. As I watched her make it one night, I was highly skeptical of the raw eggs going right into the pasta. But after one bite, my skepticism turned to conversion. The resulting sauce is light yet indulgent, savory and cheesy, and completely delicious. Bacon adds even more decadence, and the peas are a perfecting contrasting flavor.
30 Minute Meal: Pasta Carbonara
Not only is this dish phenomenal flavor-wise, it’s done in less than 30 minutes, and only requires 2 washing one pot and one pan.
If you want to skip dirtying a skillet, you could return the cooked pasta to the pot it cooked in, and combine with the eggs and cheese in the same pot. Add in some precooked bacon, and it’s almost as good. But I think it’s worth washing a frying pan to cook up the bacon in nice sized chunks, and add a bit of that bacon grease to toss with the pasta.
To simplify the bacon clean up, line a bowl with 2 layers of aluminum foil. Pour off the grease into the foil-lined bowl. Leave the grease to harden and then ball up the foil and throw it away. Life changing bacon tip!
Pasta Carbonara is the weeknight dinner you’ve been missing. I hope your family loves it as much as mine did!
Ingredients
Method
- Fill a large pot with 4 cups of water and 1 tbsp salt. Bring to a boil and add pasta. Cook until al dente.
- While pasta cooks, combine eggs and egg yolks with 2/3 c parmesan cheese in small bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper, and set aside.
- Cut bacon into 1 inch pieces and place in cold skillet. Heat over medium high heat and cook until bacon is fully cooked. Pour off grease, leaving about 1 tbsp in the hot skillet.
- When pasta is done cooking, reserve 1 cup of pasta water, and drain pasta. Immediately place pasta in hot skillet with bacon and immediately pour egg and cheese mixture over pasta. Use tongs to quickly stir egg mixture into hot pasta, to cook eggs and coat pasta thoroughly. Add reserved hot cooking water as needed to thin sauce. Add peas, and remaining parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.
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