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Shaheena's Spaghetti Carbonara


I remember sitting in front of my laptop one day while studying, craving for a plate of spaghetti carbonara. Wishing I had the ingredients (& recipe) to make a plate for myself.
I googled a few recipes, then came across Antonio Carluccio's authentic carbonara recipe on YouTube & my life was changed forever. 

& I mean that in the most dramatic way possible because it's the easiest, quickest thing to make & it's one of my absolute favourites.

This recipe is for 2. 

Here are the things you will need:

1. Spaghetti - 1/3 of a pack (or any type of pasta. Whichever you fancy)

2. Parmesan cheese - 1/2 to 1/3 of a 150g packet (grated or powder form, doesn't matter. You can add other types of cheese too)

 3. Bacon chips - 200g to 300g (I love bacon so the more the better but again it's up to you) 
#Tip: It's important to get bacon that has a little bit of fat on it because that's where all the flavour comes from. You can use lean bacon but it might not taste as good.

 4. 2 eggs - 1 whole egg & 1 egg yolk
#Tip: You can add 2 yolks instead of 1 if you want a creamier texture.

 5. Black pepper - Grind & use as much as you want! Please try to avoid any flavoured pepper powder. 

 6. Salt - 1/2 teaspoon or so

 7. Olive oil - 1 tablespoon


Here's how you make it:

 1. Fill up a pot of water & bring it to a boil over the stove. Put in your spaghetti & add the salt to it. Boil until cooked. Drain.
#Tip: Save a little bit of the pasta water to add to your dish if you find it a little dry later on.

2. Heat up a pan & pour in the olive oil. Then add the bacon. Fry until golden brown. Turn off the heat & remove pan from stove, but keep bacon in the pan.
#Tip: Do this just as you think the spaghetti is almost done. The pan needs to be a little hot but not over the heat.

3. In a bowl, crack the eggs and whisk. Add in the cheese & pepper. Mix well.

4. Once the spaghetti is cooked, sieve & add into pan with bacon. Mix. Add in the eggs-cheese-pepper mixture.
#Tip: DO NOT heat up pan while mixing all these ingredients. It will cause the egg to cook & you will get a very unsavory texture. The heat from the cooked spaghetti & cooked bacon will suffice. If you think you need another yolk, go ahead & add one more. Or you can use a little of the pasta water that you saved earlier.

5. Once mixed, serve on plate & sprinkle (generously) with cheese & pepper.

6. Eat whilst hot.


It really is that simple.

Now you might be wondering about the egg & if there's any egg-y smell. I was worried about that too, but the bacon & pepper actually mask the smell & taste of the eggs. So all you taste is that creamy sauce loaded with all the bacon & pepper.

I hope you enjoy making & eating this just as much as I did! 


Don't forget to e-mail at shaheena_14@yahoo.com me if you have any questions or comment below this post if you liked it!

Happy cooking! 😃
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