Fancy some coal miner noodles?...

Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Originally uploaded by jyew.

Jude's leaving for Philly tomorrow for a conference so I thought to make him something nice for dinner tonight (not that I need a reason to make my husband a yummy meal of course...) A dish I've always wanted to try but never got round to making is Spaghetti alla Carbonara. And we're not talking about runny noodles drowning in some cruel unidentifiable white sauce that you get at your regular wannabe Italian joint. This is the classic Carbonara with no cream- all velvety and luscious, with just a tinge of that saffron hue from the eggs and cheese. Purists will tell you that a good Spaghetti Carbonara has only four humble ingredients: spaghetti, pancetta, eggs and cheese.

The key to a velvety Carbonara sauce is timing. The pancetta should be crisp and ready in its drippings and the pan should be off the fire before you drain the pasta. The cheese and egg mixture goes in immediately and the heat which cooks the sauce should come from the pasta and not any heat from the stove. You don't want scrambled eggs in your noodles.

Ingredients (serves 2):
1 tbsp olive oil
3 oz thickly sliced pancetta, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
2 tablespoons salt
1/3 pound spaghetti
2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, well beaten
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 cup boiling pasta water
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method:
1. In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring often, until it's crisp. Set the pan aside.

2. Mix all but a handful of the cheese with the eggs.

3. Bring water to a boil. Add the salt and the spaghetti and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving the 1/2 cup of pasta water, and return the pasta while it's very hot to the pan. Immediately add the egg mixture and toss well. Add just enough of the pasta water to make the mixture creamy. Sprinkle liberally with pepper and the remaining cheese. Serve immediately.

[Recipe adapted from David Leite @ Leite's Culinara, Paula Laurita @ BellaOnline, The Kitchen Geek, and Tyler Florence.]

Traditional Spaghetti Carbonara is not as rich as people think because it does not have cream, but we did have it with a small salad just to balance the meal a little. I really have to stress that the pan must be off the heat when you stir in the egg and cheese. I think because our pan retains heat really well, the eggs would have scrambled if it had been any hotter. And this is why people tend to add cream to the recipe- it prevents the eggs from cooking so quickly. But I think any additional ingredient would have detracted from the depth of flavor that comes from the cheese and pancetta.

Because there are so few ingredients in this dish, make sure you have the good stuff- good olive oil, good pasta (I like De Cecco or Barilla), pancetta instead of bacon, freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese (not the hideous shredded plastic you get in a bag) and fresh eggs. This is a really simple dish to make, and because the ingredients aren't at all expensive or hard to find, you don't even have to wait till your husband is leaving for a conference to make it! :)