Spaghetti Cooked Alla Carbonara

Placed in Piazza Campo de’ Fiori, Rome, is an old restaurant called La Carbonara. This name has nothing to do with the classic Italian dish Spaghetti alla carbonara.

At the beginning of last century there was a coal shop in the neighbourhood. One day the owner of this shop decided to open an inn close to the shop. He called it Il Carbonaro.

Later on the inn was moved to Campo de’ Fiori square, and the name was changed to La Carbonara. Today it is a pricy type of eating establishment. However, they have a good quality cuisine, specialized in typical Roman Cooking. They serve Penne alla carbonara.

Spaghetti cooked alla carbonara is what you cook at home when you are in a hurry. Most international recipes call for cream. The traditional Spaghetti alla carbonara shall never have cream, only pork (pancetta), pasta, eggs, cheese, and black pepper. Pancetta isn´t available at my supermarket. But any good quality bacon will do too.

INGREDIENTS:
Serves 4

* 400-500 g spaghetti
* 200 g bacon, cubed
* butter (optional)
* 3-4 egg yolks
* 1,5 dl (150 ml) Parmesan cheese, grated
* 1,5 dl (150 ml) Pecorino cheese, grated
* 4 tablespoons cream
* 1 – 1½ tablespoon black pepper, freshly ground
* 3 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped (optional)
* a pinch of salt

METHOD:

1. Cook spaghetti in a large kettle of boiling salted water, until “al dente”.
2. Fry the bacon in a large frying pan until the fat comes out.
3, Beat the egg yolks with salt, the grated cheeses, cream and parsley.
4. Season with black pepper.
5. Drain spaghetti, pour it into the frying pan with the bacon.
6. Turn the heat on low.
7. Stir around to flavor the spaghetti with the bacon.
8. Add the beaten egg mixture, stirring carefully, avoiding the egg mixture to cook. The heat of the spaghetti will be enough to warm up the egg mixture.

Serve immediately.