Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Spaghetti Carbonara Recipes

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BaconDoneWright #CollectiveBias


Thanksgiving is now over, Black Friday-Cyber Monday has passed, and the holiday season is in full swing.   Everyone is busy and now is the time to have those great quick and easy recipes on hand. That is why I LOVE this recipe for Spaghetti Carbonara. So rich and satisfying and it only requires a few simple ingredients and about 15 minutes. 

The finished Spaghetti Carbonara dish in a white bowl with the Wright bacon in the background and the title at the top.

Everyone knows that the base of any good carbonara sauce is bacon.  And you know that you're going to get #BaconDoneWright with Wright® Brand Bacon.  It's expertly crafted, rich robust flavor, and premium cuts of meat are going to really make this Spaghetti Carbonara shine.  



The shelf in Kroger that the Wright bacon can be found on and where at on the shelf.

I went to Kroger to pick-up my favorite flavor, the Wright® Applewood Smoked and headed home to get started. 



Spaghetti Carbonara:
*Prep Time: 5 min.  *Cook Time:  15 minutes  *Difficulty:  Easy  *Servings: 4-6 Large portions

Ingredients:


A picture of the ingredients that are needed to make the Spaghetti Carbonara recipe.

  • 6-8 Sliced of Wright® Applewood Bacon, sliced
  • 1 c. of Parmesan Cheese, grated
  • 1 lb. of Spaghetti Pasta
  • 2 Egg Yolks
  • 4-6 Cloves of Garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp. Dried Parsley
  • 1 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
  • 2 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 c. of the Starchy Pasta Water
To begin you will need to place a large pot of salted water over a medium/high heat and bring to a boil.  


The sliced bacon rendering down and crisping in a skillet.

While you're waiting for the salted water to come to a boil place a deep skillet over medium/high heat and add the extra virgin olive oil with the sliced Wright® Applewood Bacon.  
Let that bacon render down it's fat and get crisp.  


Spaghetti being added to a pot of salted, boiling water.

Once your pot of salted water comes to a boil add the pasta.
Cook the pasta 1 minuted under what the box recommends.
It will continue to cook in the sauce and you don't want it to get mushy.

Two egg yolks being added to a mixing bowl.

Now, while the bacon is browning and the pasta is cooking, you can add the egg yolks  to the mixing bowl.

Yes, I KNOW that traditionally Spaghetti Carbonara would use the entire egg, but I will be honest.  I am a little squeamish about the fact that you will not actually be cooking the eggs so I just use the yolks.  That's where all the rich flavor of the carbonara sauce comes from anyway.

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese being added to the mixing bowl with the egg yolks.

Now to the mixing bowl with the egg yolks you can add the freshly grated Parmesan cheese along  with the...

The parsley being added to the grated Parmesan cheese and egg yolks

Parsley.

I used dried parsley here because, well, EVERY grocery store in town was sold out of fresh after Thanksgiving.  I found it worked great in this dish and hey, what is a good home cook if not resourceful, right?

Pepper being added to the mixing bowl with the grated cheese, egg yolks, and parsley.

You will not need to add any extra salt to this dish because the bacon and Parmesan cheese will provide all the salitness you need. However, you will want to add some pepper to the cheese and egg mixture.

Fun Fact: Carbonara is a simple dish that used to be prepared for Italian coal miners.  The pepper was said to resemble the coal dust from the mines.

The browned bacon in a glass bowl and the rendered bacon fat in another glass bowl on a cutting board.

Once the bacon is nice and crisp remove it from the skillet and pour the rendered bacon fat into a heat safe dish.

A teaspoon of the bacon fat being added back to the skillet.

Add 1 tsp. of the bacon fat back into the hot skillet and...

The minced garlic being added to the bacon fat in the hot skillet.

Add the minced garlic.
You will only cook the garlic long enough to smell it coming from the pan.

The al dente spaghetti being added to the skillet with the garlic.

By now the spaghetti will be finished cooking.
Using tongs remove it from the water and add it to the pan.

You don't want to drain the pasta because you will need some of the starchy water for the carbonara sauce.

The egg and cheese mixture being added to the skillet with the pasta and garlic.

Add the egg and cheese mixture to the hot pasta in the skillet and toss it all together so that all of the spaghetti is coated.

The starchy pasta water being added to the skillet with the pasta, cheese mixture, and garlic to create the Carbonara sauce.

Now ladle the starchy pasta water into the skillet with the pasta one ladle full at a time.
This is what creates the beautiful carbonara sauce.
It took me 3 ladles full to get the consistency that I wanted.

The crisp bacon being added back to the Spaghetti Carbonara in the skillet.

Once you get the sauce where you want it, return the crisp bacon to the pan and toss it all together.

The finished Spaghetti Carbonara in a white bowl, being twirled with a fork.

And there you have it!

A creamy and flavorful Spaghetti Carbonara ready and on the table in 15 minutes!   Serve this with a simple side salad and some garlic bread and you have a winning combo on your hands.  Wright® Brand Bacon definitely makes all the difference in this dish, so if you like this recipe head on over to WrightBrand.com for even more great ideas!  And I would love to hear what some of your quick and easy go-to bacon recipes are as well!  

And as always...
PRINTABLE RECIPE
Happy Reading, Happy Eating, and Happy Living, 
~The Kitchen Wife~

Spaghetti Carbonara:
*Prep Time: 5 min.  *Cook Time:  15 minutes  *Difficulty:  Easy  *Servings: 4-6 Large portions



Ingredients:
  • 6-8 Sliced of Wright® Applewood Bacon, sliced
  • 1 c. of Parmesan Cheese, grated
  • 1 lb. of Spaghetti Pasta
  • 2 Egg Yolks
  • 4-6 Cloves of Garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp. Dried Parsley
  • 1 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
  • 2 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 c. of the Starchy Pasta Water
Directions:
  1. Place a large pot of salted water over medium/high heat and bring to a boil. 
  2. Add the extra virgin olive oil to a deep skillet along with the bacon and place over medium/high heat.  
  3. Let the bacon fat begin to render and the bacon get crisp. 
  4. Add the spaghetti to the pot and cook 1 minute under  what the box recommends.
  5. While the bacon and pasta is cooking combine the egg yolks, grated Parmesan, dried parsley, and pepper in a mixing bowl. 
  6. Once the bacon has become crisp remove it from the pan and pour the bacon fat into a heat safe dish.
  7. Return 1 tsp of the bacon fat to the skillet and add the garlic.  Cook just long enough to smell the garlic coming from the pan.  
  8. Now, using tongs, add the spaghetti to the skillet.  DO NOT DRAIN the pasta water. You will need it for the sauce later. 
  9. Add the cheese and egg mixture to the pasta and garlic in the skillet.  Toss everything together. 
  10. Add the starchy pasta water, a ladle full at a time, to the pasta stirring it with the cheese and egg mixture until you get a sauce like consistency.  
  11. Return the bacon to the pan and toss. 
  12. Serve and Enjoy!

2 comments:

  1. I can't believe how easy it is! I am sure the whole family would love it!! (client)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Samantha! It is definitely a favorite around here!

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