The Tiny Table: Carbonara

There are some meals that you make because they taste good not because you give a flying fig about their nutritional value. Sometimes this is because you're snowed in and you want comfort food to keep you warm. Or maybe you're remembering a family member who is no longer a part of your life. Whatever the reason, it is always a good idea to have a couple easy comfort recipes in your arsenal.

This relatively traditional pasta carbonara recipe is about as easy as a recipe can get and is absolute decadence on your fork.

This is another Pinterest recipe find. I love that site for collecting all manner of fun and interesting recipes. I use to have cookbooks up the wazoo that I never cracked open. Later I just printed out pages from the internet that ended up stuffed into a cabinet when I was done. Pinterest has replaced this and I can follow the steps directly from my hand held device in the kitchen. See, it is an organization tool as much as it is time sink! 

But back to Carbonara!  

You can find the actual recipe here.

It is super easy, though. You can follow these simple directions and have delicious carbonara on your table in no time.

The hardest part is choosing your pasta. We went with linguine but the sky's the limit.

We also used authentic pancetta but thick sliced and chopped bacon will do just fine if you can't find the real thing. 

You need the pasta of your choosing, pancetta, 2 eggs (one whole and one separated egg yolk), grated cheese (either Romano or Parmesan or a combination of both), olive oil, and salt and pepper.

Cook your pasta according to package directions. While that is happening throw the pancetta into a pan with a little olive oil and get it all nice and browned. Once it is done set it aside to cool.

In a bowl combine your eggs and cheese and begin to beat the mixture into submission. Then add your cooled pancetta to the mix.

Drain your pasta and return it to the pan or to a serving bowl. This is where the magic happens. Pour your egg and cheese mixture over the hot pasta.

Now, eat and enjoy! 

I suppose I should add the necessary caution here about eating raw eggs. The idea behind carbonara is that the eggs cook ever so slightly when you add them to the hot pasta, but if the idea of raw eggs doesn't float your boat you can either heat the now coated pasta back up again or, perhaps, avoid this dish all together.