Perfectly cooked strands of spaghetti coated in crispy bacon and rich glossy sauce is something dreams are made of.
This classic Italian dish is a favourite of mine. For this recipe I’ve added a twist with my Gaucho seasoning as I believe the herbs and a hint of paprika bring a little lightness to this otherwise indulgently rich creamy dish.
Did you know? Carbonara is usually associated with Rome and the Lazio region, but as usual with many traditional dishes, its origin provokes a lot of speculation and debate. Some connect it to 'pasta cacio e uova, a Neapolitan dish of pasta tossed with melted lard, beaten raw eggs, and cheese, as documented in Ippolito Cavalcanti’s 1839 Neapolitan Cookbook. Another theory suggests the name comes from the word 'Carbonaro', which translates as 'coal burner' as they believe the dish was created as a hearty, easy-to-make meal by men working outdoors for long periods because, at the time, pork was commonly cured and eggs were easily available.
Others go so far as to even trace it back to the Allied liberation of Rome in 1944, with American GIs bringing their daily ration of eggs and bacon to local restaurants to add to the limited Italian menu. Supporting this story is the first written reference to the dish in the newspaper 'La Stampa' in 1950, describing it as a dish prized by American servicemen. Whatever the origins I have great admiration for iconic dishes particularly those with so few simple ingredients.
Chef Dylan’s tip: If you cook the eggs in the frypan when you add the pasta it will scramble leaving you with a broken, weeping, and curdled sauce. Eggs will scramble at 70°C, so make sure you turn off the heat. The residual heat from the pasta will cook the eggs to 65°C giving you a silky sauce.
The last time I had this dish was in a restaurant in Frankfurt, Germany. “I’ve booked us a table for dinner and we’d love for you both to join us. It’s one of our favourite restaurants. I think you’ll be impressed by the food. It’s authentic Italian” says Gav, an old friend, who has kindly offered to host us for a few days on a stopover. “We’ve got Silke’s parents to come and babysit for the night so we'll leave in thirty minutes”.
Arriving at the restaurant we are greeted by a slightly balding, burly, olive-skinned, middle-aged man, neatly dressed in a white dress shirt and black chinos. His kind, deep, chestnut-coloured eyes widen with delight. “Gav! I’m so glad to see you, my friend,” he says and instantly gives him a manly bear hug and then places his giant hairy hands on either side of Gav’s head and proceeds to plant a moustache-bristled kiss on each of his cheeks. Much to my relief, as he turns to me, he just offers his big hand and initiates by shaking mine enthusiastically. “You must be the Australian” he says, and before anyone can answer he turns “Ahhh, Silke, Gav’s beautiful better half. Welcome, welcome” and with grace, he bends and gently kisses her outstretched hand, making Silke blush. His eyes meet my wife “And you must be the Scottish dame, I presume” he proclaims as he ceremoniously bows. “Please come in, come in”. It goes without saying the hospitality that evening was top-notch, and we all had a wonderful evening. I was reminded of how lovely it was to visit a restaurateur who really loves their work.
If you have never tried carbonara without the cream please give this a try as you will notice it is not quite as rich and filling. Moreover once you master the art of a silky egg sauce you'll be able to wow your guests with ease.
PREP TIME: TIME: 15 mins
COOKING TIME: 15 mins
SERVINGS: 2
INGREDIENTS
200g streaky bacon, thinly sliced
50g pecorino cheese
50g parmesan
3 large eggs
350g spaghetti
2 garlic cloves, diced
50g butter
2 tbsps GAUCHO
METHOD
Put a large saucepan of water on to boil.
Finely grate pecorino cheese and parmesan and mix together.
Whisk the 3 eggs in a medium bowl and season with a little freshly cracked black pepper. Set these aside.
Add spaghetti to the pot, and when the water comes back to the boil, constantly cook, moving the pasta with tongs to ensure they don’t stick together. Cook for 10-12 minutes or until al dente.
While the spaghetti is cooking. Add butter into a large frying pan on medium heat. As the butter bubbles up, add the bacon and cook until how you like it. Then add garlic and GAUCHO. Stir to combine and cook for another minute. Keep the frypan with the bacon on low heat, and when the pasta is ready, lift it from the water with a pasta fork or tongs and put it in the frying pan with the bacon. Don’t worry if a little water drops in the pan as well (you want this to happen) and don’t throw away the pasta water just yet either.
Mix most of the cheese in with the eggs (keep a small handful back for sprinkling over later).
Take the pan of spaghetti and bacon off the heat. Now quickly pour in the eggs and cheese.
Using the tongs or a long fork lift up the spaghetti, so it mixes easily with the egg mixture. This thickens it into a sauce but doesn’t scramble, make sure all the pasta is coated well.
Add extra pasta cooking water to keep it saucy (several tablespoons should do it). You don’t want it wet, just nice and glossy. Season with a little extra salt, if needed. As you'll no doubt know us chefs love our salt.
Use a long-pronged fork or tongs to serve into a large bowl or twist the pasta delicately onto a serving plate.
TO SERVE
Serve immediately with a little sprinkling of the remaining cheese and a few extra cracks of black pepper. Guten appetit.
Comments