Creamy, rich, and smoky, this 30-Minute Spaghetti Carbonara is one of our favorite Italian dishes. This is one of those meals that is fancy enough for entertaining on the weekend, but easy enough for a simple, delicious weeknight dinner.
½cupparmesan cheese, freshly grated, plus more for serving
½cupromano cheese, grated
4large garlic cloves, minced
1lbspaghetti, dry
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼cupchopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
Set a large oven-safe bowl in the oven and set oven to 200F, to keep bowl warm. Bring a well-salted large pot of water to boil.
While water is heating up, heat up the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add bacon and cook, stirring, until browned and crisp. Add wine and simmer until slightly reduced, about 7 minutes. Toss in 1/4 tsp kosher salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper and stir. Remove from heat, cover, and set aside.
In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, cheeses, and garlic and set aside.
As soon as water in large pot boils, add pasta and cook just until al dente, according to package instructions; don't over cook. Reserve 1/2 cup of the hot pasta water and drain the rest (do not rinse pasta, just drain it.)
Remove hot bowl from the oven. Add the drained pasta and egg mixture into it, stirring well. Add bacon mixture and toss well to coat. Add parsley and toss. Adjust consistency with reserved hot pasta water if needed. Add kosher salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Serve with freshly grated parmesan.
Notes
Use a dry, crisp white wine such as pinot grigio.
Be sure to use kosher salt, as it is much less salty by volume than table salt.
Grate your own block of good quality parmesan cheese, for best results. We do not recommend using pre-grated, powdery parmesan cheese.
Make sure eggs are room temperature and whisk them very well to ensure a smooth sauce.
Don't rinse pasta. We want to keep the extra starch on it to help thicken the sauce.
Variations: you can use a different pasta, such as linguine, instead of spaghetti. Try pancetta instead of bacon. For additional protein, add shredded chicken or shrimp. If you don't want to use wine, you can substitute with unsalted bone broth.
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