If you ask me what the easiest pasta to make is, my answer would probably be Carbonara. It only needs 5 ingredients, takes about 15 min to make, and it’s absolutely delicious with a creamy sauce made egg, parmesan & pecorino romano. This pasta is so good that I use it as a standardized test for every Italian restaurant I visit, and it is the only pasta that I would make on a daily basis for a quick and delicious meal or snack. Since this dish is originated in Rome, but with some of the ingredients that are very hard to find outside Italy, so I make some recontamination on what to use in the ingredients list.
You’ll Need:
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1 oz freshly grated Pecorino Romano
- 1 oz freshly grated Parmesan
- 1 tsp Coarsely ground black pepper
- 4 oz cured pork (options):
- guanciale (It’s very hard to find & expensive, but the Romans love it, it’s cured pork jowl)
- pancetta (Also very hard to find & expensive, but very popular in Italy, it’s cured pork belly)
- bacon (Very easy to find & cheap, thick cut, smoked and cured pork belly)
- 3/4 lb dried pasta (options):
- bucatini (a hollow, thick spaghetti-like pasta, very light, not easy to find)
- spaghetti (very easy to find and cheap)
How to make this:
- Heat up a large pot of water with salt over high heat, and bring to a boil, cook the pasta until it’s just a bit over al dente
- While the pasta is cooking, sliced the cured pork of your choice into pieces about 1/4 inch thick by 1/3 inch square, then sauté the cured pork in a large skillet over medium heat until the fat just renders, just so that the edge are crispy but not hard, then remove from heat and set aside
- Whisk together the egg yolks, Pecorino and Parmesan in another bowl, season with black pepper
- Save a ladle of pasta water, add the drained pasta to the pan, stir it for about 20 seconds, then add in the egg yolk cheese mix, stir constantly, then add a little bit if the pasta water at a time, mix until the yolk thickens
- Server with some extra Pecorino or Parmesan
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