Spaghetti Carbonara

A classic carbonara is nothing more than a handful of ordinary ingredients, but boy is this a scrumptious sauce.Not exactly a lean meal, but sometimes a girl has to splurge! 

Spaghetti Carbonara

Ingredients 

• 1/2lb dry spaghetti
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2oz pancetta or bacon, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup frozen peas, optional
• 2 tbsp parsley, chopped

Cook the pasta until al dente in a large pot of boiling, salted water. Add peas during last 2 minutes of cooking if desired. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water for the sauce. While the pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce. 

In a large skillet, render the bacon in olive oil until crisp. Add the garlic and sautee until golden brown. Remove the skillet from the heat.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and cheese. 

Add the cooked pasta to the pan and toss with the bacon and garlic. Stir the egg mixture into the noodles. If a thinner sauce is desired, gradually add the reserved cooking water. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Garnish with parsley and serve.

Serves 2

Notes from the Chef:

-It's important that the pasta is steaming hot before adding the eggs otherwise the eggs will not cook!

-There's absolutely nothing traditional about peas; I'm just pea obsessed, remember?