Pasta Carbonara
2015-12-17 12:13:16
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 2 eggs , room temperature, whisked
- 1 1/2 T. olive oil
- 5 whole garlic cloves
- 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 12 oz box whole wheat spaghetti
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- pinch of nutmeg
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan or pecorino cheese
- 1/3 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Whisk eggs together in a small bowl and set aside, start a large pot of salted water to boil.
- In a large, heavy saute pan, slowly cook the olive oil, bacon and garlic cloves until the bacon begins to crisp and the garlic cloves are very soft.
- With the back of the spoon mash the garlic cloves and turn off the heat, add the crushed red pepper and let sit.
- Add the pasta to the salted water and cook until al dente.
- Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and then drain the pasta.
- Add the drained pasta to the saucepan with the bacon and garlic and toss gently, turn the heat back on low.
- While constantly tossing the pasta, add the whisked eggs and half the reserved pasta water.
- Add additional pasta water as needed to create a sauce from the eggs until everything is heated through and the pasta is coated with the sauce.
- Add salt, pepper, nutmeg and cheese plus additional pasta water if needed, toss well and generously garnish with the fresh parsley.
- Serve immediately.
***Healthy changes and substitutions
- This recipe has no cream as the traditional recipes do, the eggs, cheese and pasta water create a very creamy sauce, eliminating a lot of saturated fat.
- Using whole wheat pasta in this dish adds heart healthy fiber as well as additional protein,
- Caramelization of the small amount of bacon and olive oil with the garlic adds a depth of flavor with a fraction of the fat usually in this dish.
- ***Cooking Tips
- It is very important to make sure that the eggs are room temperature and the pan is on a very low heat when you add the eggs or you will end up with scrambled eggs instead of a creamy sauce. Constant tossing when you add the eggs is equally important!
- Salting the pasta water is a great way to add a ton of flavor with a minimum of additional sodium.
- Freshly grated, good quality parmesan goes a long way to add lots of flavor.
- ***Nutritional Facts
- Eggs are packed with almost every essential vitamin and mineral needed by the human body with only 1.5 grams of saturated fat and about 70 calories each.
- Parsley is a powerful antioxidant that helps prevent damage to cells as well as being a excellent source of Vitamin C and Vitamin A.
- Garlic is known to have anti-inflammatory properties that help the body fight allergies as well as antibacterial properties that help to prevent colds and infections.
Robin Shea http://www.robinshea.com/
