Fettuccine Carbonara – Basil Butter

Made this last week and forgot how wonderfully satisfying this dish is and that you can have this on the table in about a 1/2 hour. I don’t know about you… but can you think of anything better than a plate of pasta made with cheese, bacon, and cream? Carbonara is an Italian dish which is typically made with guanciale which is made from cured pork cheeks, you could also use pancetta but to be honest I substitute bacon in for this dish. Also, just so I don’t seriously tick off some Italian cooks, Carbonara is not made with cream, this is an American riff off this classic dish…so please no hate mail:/ All you need to make this dish is 7 ingredients and is the perfect dish to make when you are feeling uninspired or desperately need to go to the grocery store.

Ingredients:

1 # of fettuccine
2 large egg yolks
2 cups freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 pound of bacon diced
4 cloves of garlic minced
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup of reserved pasta water
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instruction; reserve 1/4 cup water and drain well. In a small bowl whisk together the eggs, cream, 1 1/2 cup of cheese; and set aside. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add bacon cook until brown and crispy (about 6-8 minutes) remove bacon from pan and set aside. Save some of the bacon fat (about a tablespoon) Place the empty pasta pot on stove top over medium heat and add reserved bacon fat and stir in garlic until fragrant (for about 1 minutes) Reduce heat to low. Add pasta and slowly add reserved pasta water and egg mixture gently tossing to combine. Add bacon and salt and pepper to taste continue to stir pasta gently. Serve immediately and top with parsley and remaining Parmesan cheese.