Spaghetti Carbonara
June 6th, 2008
Here it is, a different take on spaghetti — a great recipe for those picky kids you see eating dry, tasteless spaghetti because they don’t like red tomato sauce. (picture me rolling my eyes) Also a great dish for the accomplished spaghetti-eating adult who just wants something a bit different.
My basic two ways of preparing spaghetti are 1) chunky red sauce and 2) purchased Alfredo sauce. Spaghetti Carbonara is a lighter-tasting spaghetti containing bits of bacon but still retaining an Italian flavor. Mmm…. Mmmm… If my kids read this post, I can promise you I’ll be making this one soon.
I don’t know if the Olive Garden serves this dish, but I can just imagine it — it would fit in really well on their advertisements.
Spaghetti Carbonara
serves 6
1 lb. dry spaghetti
6 slices of bacon
2 T. olive oil or melted butter
1/4 t. chili pepper flakes
1 egg
1/3 c. parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
Takes just minutes to prepare! Cut down on the time by purchasing already cooked bacon or preparing the bacon beforehand.
Fry the bacon and place on paper towels to drain. Crumble into tiny bits.
Boil the spaghetti according to the package directions. By the way, any of your long pastas will work here — angel hair, linguine, spaghetti, or vermicelli.
While your noodles boil, combine the crumbled bacon with the oil and pepper flakes in a large bowl. In a small bowl, beat the egg and add the cheese to it.
Drain the pasta and immediately add it to the bacon/pepper mixture. Toss in the egg. The heat from the pasta will cook the egg as you toss it all together. Shake some salt and pepper on top of it all. Voila! You are done! Serve to your hungry family. Don’t forget some salad, preferably a nice, fresh Caesar salad.
Enjoy!