My husband and I don’t eat a lot of bacon. A standard pack of bacon will sit in our fridge until fear of food poisoning kicks in. BTW, how long can you keep an opened pack of bacon? Fortunately, bacon is an acceptable substitute for guanciale or pancetta, which means a good excuse for pasta carbonara. There are variations of this classic Italian recipe but I think that my husband has perfected it.
Ingredients:
Spaghetti
Guanciale (an unsmoked Italian bacon prepared with pig’s jowl or cheeks); otherwise use pancetta or bacon
Yellow Onion ( 1 )
Pecorino Romano
Egg (1)
Milk
Black Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Recipe:
1 ) Cook pasta according to directions, adding salt to the water.
2 ) Sauté yellow onions. Chop the pancetta or bacon into small cubes and add into the pan with the onions, when the onions are almost done. Cook until the bacon cubes are crisp.
3 ) Add the cooked spaghetti into the pan with the onions and pancetta. Mix well.
4 ) Break the egg in a small bowl and whisk with a bit of milk, then pour into the hot pasta. The pasta must be warm enough to “cook” the egg. Note: Adding milk isn’t absolutely necessary but it helps to prevent the egg from turning into scrambled egg and lends a bit of texture. Mix until the spaghetti is evenly coated.
5 ) Grate fresh pecorino romano on top. Add salt and fresh black pepper to taste.
I really wish I could find a photo of this dish. Just looking at it will make your mouth water. For the sake of this blog, I will ask my husband to make this again soon and take a photo next time.
