17 May 2011

creamy creamy carbonara

Okay, if you are vegan, trying to down your intake of calories, or intolerant in any way to dairy, close this now, 'cause it ain't for you!  I usually make carbonara without cream, as per the traditional way from the Lazio region in Italy - my friend Bates has a wicked recipe for the pasta tradizionale on her travelogue for foodies.  But last night I went back to the way I first learnt to make carbonara, and it wasn't in Italy, nor was it Italians doing the teaching.  The teachers were French, and we were in France.  Nathalie, the specific Frenchie doing the teaching, was from the Savoy region in France, where it's pretty alpine and they're not at all adverse to the use of cream, butter and cheese in their cuisine.  So, here it is, my take on carbonara with cream, a decade on.  Oh, and you can omit the splash of wine if you wish, but as I had a glass in my hand...

250 g spaghetti (or fettucine etc)
some butter or oil, for frying
200 g bacon, cut into matchsticks (les lardons as they call them in France)
1 onion, diced
handful of chopped mushrooms
250 ml cream (or thereabouts)
3 eggs
handful chopped fresh herbs
salt and pepper
parmasan cheese, grated
blue cheese (optional, but as it was in the fridge)
  1. Get the water boiling for your spaghetti, and start that cooking. 
  2. Melt butter/oil in large frying pan.  Fry the onion, bacon and mushrooms, letting the bacon get good and cooked.  Set aside. 
  3. Whisk the eggs in a jug/bowl.  Add the cream, herbs, salt and pepper and combine. 
  4. When the pasta is ready, drain it and add to the bacon etc. 
  5. Place pan back over a low heat and stir through the egg mixture.  If you're using cheeses, add these too. 
  6. Continue to stir, allowing the mixture to warm through, but not let the eggs cook.  When the sauce is thick enough serve with a sprinkling of extra parmasan.  Yum!! 


3 comments:

  1. Looks awesome fish! I will have to give that one a go sometime for the crew on the boat! Like the photo with the cheese coming off the grater! Looks like a good hearty warmer.

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  2. PS thanks for the link and mention in your post! How do I do a link? I have been trying to figure it out for ages. Still getting my head around some things. :)

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  3. I tried posting a comment but it didn't seem to work. will see if this works then repost what I wrote

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