Recipe adapted from: tastydesu
Ever since Shane tried the chicken carbonara sandwich at Quizno’s, all I have to do is mention the word “carbonara” and he’s down with it. I was super excited to try this recipe. If you guys could only see what my desk looks like – about half of it is covered with recipe printouts that I can’t wait to try 🙂 Even though I’m not a huge pancetta fan, this was very simple and delicious!
As you can see, I chose to trim most of the fat off the pancetta to make it a little bit healthier. That did leave me with less than a 1/2 lb, but pancetta has enough flavor that a little bit goes a long ways. That’s my opinion at least, but you can definitely leave it whole if you want to.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb pancetta (about 1/2 inch thick slice)
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 3 tbsp EVOO
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 2 large eggs (lightly beaten with a fork)
- 1/4 cup romano cheese
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/4 lbs pasta (I just used 1 box of spaghetti)
Directions:
- Boil and prepare your pasta by following the al dente directions on the package.
- While the pasta is boiling, cut the pancetta into approx 1/4 inch cubes.
- Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pan.
- Remove and discard the garlic skins, but leave the cloves whole.
- Saute your garlic in the oil until the garlic turns a nice golden color. Remove and discard garlic cloves.
- Put the pancetta into the seasoned oil and cook for about 2 minutes (until it begins to crisp around the edges).
- Add the white wine and let simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off stove and remove pan from heat.
- Because I couldn’t bring myself to get over the “raw egg” thought, I added my eggs to the pan at this point. Keep stirring and moving the liquid around to prevent the eggs from scrambling though. A little bit of egg texture is ok & it will blend right into the pasta.
- Drain cooked pasta (do not rinse) and add to your serving bowl. Combine with your cheeses, a liberal grinding of pepper, and top with the entire contents of your pancetta pan.
- Use a pair of tongs to toss the pasta and evenly coat it with the sauce mixture. Serve immediately.
Next time I make this ————– I’m going to try it with bacon!! And… I think I’ll go for the more American version and add in some cream to the sauce.
Hey Beth! I’m so glad that you were able to try this out. It looks fabulous! Yay!
It was yummy & am I’m actually really excited to try it again with the bacon 🙂