I made this for the first time tonight. It was a bit of work, but came out absolutely fantastic. It is a very rich, delicious, and very filling dish. The original versions of Carbonara first appeared during World War II, so it is a relatively new dish in the pantheon of Italian cuisine. The authentic Italian version is somewhat different though, than how it is made throughout the rest of the world today. One key difference is the use of cream outside of Italy, creating more of a sauce We will be making a more popularized, counterfeit version this time rather than the authentic Roman one. But don't worry, authenticity is only subjective. Just ask any pizza-maker outside of NY, lol.
Bacon. I used a nice big electric frying pan to fry a package of smoked bacon. Different variations may use panchetta, or any sort of cured pork, but we Americans do have a certain love affair with bacon and it has become the standard for how most folks recognize the dish here in the States. Guanciale is the authentic meat if you want to give that a shot. Fry the bacon pretty well so that it will be easy to crumble later, but no need to burn it or shrink it to shoelaces. Let the strips drain on a paper towel. It took me about three rounds to cook the whole package. Do not drain the bacon grease from the pan.
Instead, we are going to use that grease to pan fry our chicken. Chicken actually has nothing to do with a Carbonara recipe, but it has become a pairing as ubiquitous as bacon. I had, oh, six or eight breast halves I guess it was. First I separated out the tenderloin from each breast, then sliced both pieces across into chunks the width of my pinky or so. Try to maintain some continuity in the size of the chunks you slice so that it will cook evenly. There was enough chicken to fill my electric fry pan. Cook through, but I left it just a tad underdone, to keep it juicy, since it will be resting for a bit. We don't want it dried out when it's time to finally serve. Remove the chicken from the pan and put in a covered container to keep warm for now.
Now the pan is filled with bacon grease and chicken juices. Go ahead and use that to fry some onion in. I chopped up a white onion into fairly small bits, but later only used about half the onion for this recipe. Cook on high heat then let it stick and blacken just a tad as it caramelizes a bit too. I squeezed it against the side of the pan to drain some of the juices off, before putting the fried onion in a small container and covered it.
Next, in the same pan, we will fry a package of sliced Baby Bella mushrooms. Not a necessary or authentic component, but a variation which is common, especially in America, and a tasty variation it is. Let them sear a little in what is left of the grease and the little pieces left in the pan of all that came before, but don't over cook. The mushrooms sucked up most of the fluid left in the pan at that point. Scrape them on out of the pan and put them in another covered dish.
Now we are going to make our sauce. This is really where authentic and popularized Carbonara go their separate ways. The only “sauce” in the authentic version is beaten egg yolk. Instead, we are making what amounts to an Alfredo sauce. Egg yolk is a primary component in a Carbonara recipe, yet is often omitted entirely in these cream versions, as it takes some flair to execute properly. The yolk must remain raw so that it does not turn to lumps of scrambled egg in the sauce. I too was a bit intimidated, and decided to cheat this first time out as well. So here we go.
In my fondue pot I poured in a medium container of heavy cream. The next size up from the pint size, so I guess maybe two pints it was. Add a half stick of butter to slowly melt. You don't want much heat, don't let it burn at all. I added some whole milk as well, knowing that the incoming cheese was going to thicken it all up.
Yup, go ahead and pour the cheese into the cream now. Pecorino or Parmesan are both traditional and the standard of the westernized version. You can spend a fortune on real good cheese, but I just used store brand shredded Parmesan, which is all you really need. Expensive stuff would be a waste of money here I think. Save the good stuff to dust the dish at the end. Keep stirring and allow two packages to melt into the cream and butter. Season the sauce with parsley, garlic powder, and fresh cracked pepper. I didn't go too crazy with the seasoning, you can always add more later to taste.
Next I added a few spoonfuls of the fried onion bits. They have a lot of flavor and are sweet, so don't go too crazy with those either. I didn't think I used all that much, but it nearly overpowered the sauce. My restraint paid off.
Go ahead and mix in your mushrooms and chicken. Any juices too, left in the holding dishes, go right in. I was worried that the sauce might have been a little too thin, but it was perfect in the end product. Make sure you have kept stirring all the while, not letting the sauce stick or burn. Again, keep the heat low, just enough so that everything melts, and then turn it off. It will stay warm enough for a few minutes while you attend to other steps now.
Crumble your bacon, but don't add it to the sauce. We want it to stay as crispy as possible.
While I was making the sauce, I brought a pot of water up to boil for the pasta. People have all sorts of preferences, any pasta will do really. Spaghetti is actually the traditional cut for the authentic version. I wanted to use fettuccine, since the broad, flat noodle plays well with heavy sauces. At the last minute I saw a box of spinach fettuccine and guessed right that it would play off the richness of the dish so very well. It really grounded the richness of the dish, but you can use a regular semolina pasta as most folks do, if that's all you have or really can't stand spinach. I am not really a big fan of spinach at all, but as I said, it brought a fantastic counterpoint to the richness and widened the taste profile considerably. Once it is cooked, go ahead and drain, then return to the pan.
Pour some sauce over the pasta. Don't drown it. You will have more than enough sauce too. I used less than half of what I had made for one box of fettuccine. Stir, so that the sauce coats all of the pasta, maybe wuth a little low heat under the pan. Dish into a shallow pasta bowl. You won't need a huge portion at all, it is very filling. I took a few more pieces of chicken and mushroom to top the pasta for an eye-appealing presentation. Throw on some crumbled bacon and give a few good shakes of grated cheese. I used a Parmesan-Romano blend that had just enough saltiness that I didn't need to add salt. We're almost there now, but cover your serving for just a moment to keep them warm or hold them in a warm oven perhaps.
Now this is how I got around having to separate eggs and worrying about them overcooking, while being somewhat true to a real carbonara. I decided to do a bit of a “de-contsruct.” Fry an egg in a non-stick pan for each dish you plan to serve. Me and Mom eating tonight, so I put two eggs in the pan and covered. Do not over cook. You want to warm them up enough, but that yolk you want to keep as runny as possible without the egg being slimy. Now we are going to trim the eggs, using a cookie cutter if you have one the right size. I used a small glass. Trim the yolk out with a band of egg white around the outside being careful not to break the yolk.
Set each trimmed yolk right on top of your plated pasta, and serve immediately, with some garlic bread on the side. Break the yolk when you dig in, so that it oozes out into your pasta. Magnifico!
From the grocery store you may need: Spinach fettuccine, chicken breast, bacon, mushrooms, onion, shredded Parmesan as well as grated cheese, heavy cream, butter, eggs, parsley, garlic powder, black pepper, bread.
EDIT for NOTE:
The sauce does not keep well, breaks and turns oily. Only make enough for what you are serving. But your chicken, mushrooms, onion and bacon can have portions reserved for later use when you make another batch of cheeses sauce.
