Spaghetti Carbonara: Pasta with Bacon and Eggs

Submitted by: JustRightMenus

Description:

Note: this is a recipe that's easily removed from the menu. If your plans change, you can drop this from the menu w/o having to worry about what you'll do with the ingredients; they can all be kept for future use (but if the meat is already defrosted in the fridge, you can only keep it there for 2-3 days).

Servings: 4

Categories: Easily removed from the menu, Italian, pasta

From the kitchen of:

from Rachael Ray: 30-Minute Meals (her first book)

Ingredients

1/4 pound pancetta (or bacon), chopped in 1/2" pieces

1 pound linguine or spaghetti (or less! 3 oz. is a serving)

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 TB olive oil

2 eggs, beaten with a splash of milk and a couple of tablespoons of hte boiling water the pasta cooks in

 A couple shakes crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for the table

A handful chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

Cook the pancetta in a small pan over medium-high heat. Once it begins to brown, remove from heat and place it on papaer towels to absorb the grease.

Drop your pasta into boiling salted water and let it cook for 5 minutes before you start the sauce. Cook the pasta until al dente. (Don't forget to takke a few spoonfuls of boiling water from the pasta pot and add it to your scrambled egg mixture.)

Heat garlic and olive oil in a big skillet or frying pan over very low heat. Add crushed red pepper flakes if you like extra heat.

Dump the pasta into a colander, give it a quick rinse, and drain it well.

Turn the heat up on the garlic oil from low to medium. Toss the pasta in the pan with the garlic oil and coat the pasta evenly.

Toss in the pancetta pieces.

Pour the egg mixture evenly over the pasta. Toss the pasta fast and firmly.

Turn the heat off. Add cheese, parsley, and a generous dose of balck pepper.

Serve it up hot, with extra cheese and pepper on hand.