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Classic (& Quick) Carbonara Spaghetti with Bacon and Spinach Recipe

Friday, April 29, 2011 | Labels: , , , |

There is nothing as comforting and delicious like a good and classic pasta dish sometimes and carbonara is one of my favourites.  You know, it was only a few years ago that I discovered in classic carbonara recipes, cream is not used and I was more than delighted to note that as I always refrained from making carbonara at home since it felt too sinful what with the cheese and the cream so I only order it occasionally at restaurants.  With classic carbonara, only eggs and cheese are needed for the sauce - of course the ratio of the eggs and cheese may vary and it is totally up to you how 'cheesy' you want your dish to be.  I like to stick on the not-too-cheesy side and allow guests to add more at the table if desired.

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This dish was cooked, photographed and served in under 30 minutes.  Preparation is minimal, you only need to dice up the bacon and rinse some spinach.  Add a clove or two of minced garlic if you like as well.  Timing is pretty important too in this dish as you don't want the pasta to go cold before it is ready for tossing with the other ingredients.  Freshly grated cheese works the best with this recipe but of course you can substitute with store-bought grated cheese (usually pecorino is used) although I have had good results with just parmesan as well.  Instead of spinach, you can also add mushrooms - in fact pancetta is more the classic meat of choice than bacon but the latter works great I think.

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Serves two

Ingredients:

Half a packet of spaghetti or pasta of your choice
Enough salted water to boil the pasta
6 slices of streaky bacon, diced
1 cup worth of baby spinach or spinach, rinsed well
2 eggs
6 tbsps worth of freshly grated cheese or store-bought grated cheese (add more cheese if you wish, really this is to taste)
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste

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Method:

Firstly, boil the pasta in the salted water.  While that is going on the stove, fry the bacon bits until almost crispy.  Set aside.  In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs well to break up the yolks, then add the cheese.  Set aside.

Once the pasta is about to be cooked till 'al dente' add the spinach and cook until wilted.  Remove pasta and spinach from the pot and drain, saving about 1-2 tbsps of the pasta water. Add the bacon bits into the pot.  Immediately pour in the egg and cheese mixture and toss pasta rapidly with a pair of tongs to coat pasta well with both the bacon and the egg mixture.  You have to do this quickly so that eggs do not cook on their own.  If the sauce appears too thick, you can dilute with a little bit of the pasta water saved, adding a little at a time. 

Add a bit of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.  Serve hot.

13 comments:

Nami said...

Hi Jen! I love carbonara! Easy and quick. I should be cooking this for tomorrow's lunch. Thanks for sharing. Your pictures are so beautiful and make me want to eat it right away!

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

I've wanted to try this dish for a while (well minus bacon for me)! Looks simple and delicious!

Cooking gallery said...

Carbonara is one of my most favourite pasta dishes, so simple yet so yummy! Sometimes I top my carbonara with runny egg yolk, it tastes really yummy :).

Tastes of Home (Jen) said...

Thanks Nami for your kind words! You're right, this is so easy, quick and yet delicious :)

Tastes of Home (Jen) said...

thanks girl! Yup I like it minus bacon too :)

Tastes of Home (Jen) said...

runny egg yolk? sounds good, shall give it a try sometime

Xinmei @ Pudding Pie Lane said...

The problem I have with blogging is that I take ages to take photos and fiddle around with them, 30 mins would be a very very big achievement for me! And to create such a lovely and well presented dish like this, wow :) I agree though - add cheese at the table means those cheese lovers can knock themselves out with cheese at their own free will!

Xinmei @ Pudding Pie Lane said...

The problem I have with blogging is that I take ages to take photos and fiddle around with them, 30 mins would be a very very big achievement for me! And to create such a lovely and well presented dish like this, wow :) I agree though - add cheese at the table means those cheese lovers can knock themselves out with cheese at their own free will!

Tastes of Home (Jen) said...

Nami, thanks very much for your kind words again! I know, it's just so quick and tasty :D

Tastes of Home (Jen) said...

Thanks Xiaolu :)

Tastes of Home (Jen) said...

Thanks Xinmei, well I did have a picture of how I wanted the setup to be in my mind and had arranged the drink, the board and the background before cooking :)

Meishi99 said...

Hi JEn,

I just cooked carbonara. When you said mixed the drain pasta in the pan/pot with fried bacon, should the pan / pot be hot on the stove or a cooled pot thus the hot pasta will cook the eggs is it?

Smoky Wok (Tastes of Home) said...

Meishi, yes the pasta should still be rather hot and I just take the pot off the heat but it should still be warm not cold...hope that helps!!

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