Pasta Scramble-Nara

That was the name the husband gave my attempt at cooking Pasta Carbonara. I’ve always loved eating pasta carbonara but have never learnt the proper to make it. I googled for a recipe sometime ago and have never gotten the chance to try it out until a couple weeks ago.

Do you know that the white creamy carbonara sauce contain egg? Yes, whole egg or egg yolk is one essential ingredient in making the sauce. I was very surprised as well. I’ve always thought it was cream. I guess this is what makes it different from Alfredo sauce.

So, I made some the other night and used Tyler Florence’s Spaghetti Alla Carbonara recipe. The recipe seem quite easy enough and the reviews were great. I did add some mushrooms to my version. I unfortunately misread the cooking method and overcooked the egg mixture which resulted to give me a scrambled egg like texture / sauce! Boo! Although the look wasn’t the greatest, the taste was awesome! This is my second time using Tyler Florence’s recipes and I had great results both time. My other attempt at his recipe was Chicken Marsala. Here’s Tyler Florence’s Spaghetti Alla Carbonara recipe. Please pardon my “Scramble-Nara” picture. =) User (Chef) error was to blame.

SPAGHETTI ALA CARBONARA RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1 Lb Dry Spaghetti
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 4 Oz Slab Bacon, Cubed or Sliced Into Small Strips
• 4 Garlic Cloves, Finely Chopped
• 2 Large Eggs
• 1 Cup Freshly Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1 Handful Flat Leaf Parsley, Chopped

Method:

Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking to ensure that the spaghetti will be hot and ready when the sauce is finished; it is very important that the pasta is hot when adding the egg mixture, so that the heat of the pasta cooks the raw eggs in the sauce.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al-dente. Drain the pasta well, reserving 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water to use in the sauce if you wish.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium flame. Add bacon and sauté for about 3 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the fat is rendered. Toss the garlic into the fat and sauté for less than 1 minute to soften.

Add the hot, drained spaghetti to the pan and toss for 2 minutes to coat the strands in the bacon fat. Beat the eggs and Parmesan together in a mixing bowl, stirring well to prevent lumps. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the egg/cheese mixture into the pasta, whisking quickly until the eggs thicken, but do not scramble (this is done off the heat to ensure this does not happen.) Thin out the sauce with a bit of the reserved pasta water, until it reaches desired consistency. Season the carbonara with several turns of freshly ground black pepper and taste for salt. Mound the spaghetti carbonara into warm serving bowls and garnish with chopped parsley.

June’s Comments: Don’t repeat what I did. I poured in the egg mixture with the heat still on…resulting in a scrambled sauce! =p