Sunday, May 3, 2015

Carbonara the Pasta Guilt Left Behind

I can't think of a pasta dish that embodies the essence of round luscious meaty savory goodness more than this pasta dish.  It's a rich dish to be sure and made the traditional way it's probably the epitome of Italian edible decadence. The dish is Roman and was originally what the cooks from the restaurants would make for themselves late night after work and a couple of rounds of wine. An absolute play on the breakfast for dinner theme.

I first had carbonara when I went to Switzerland. It was prepared by one of the local ladies I met there. She was from the Italian part of Switzerland, Tessin. A small but beautiful area comprised mostly of mountain bound lakes and towns bordering Italy proper. The regional dialect there is Italian and the food stems also from the boot of Italy lying just below.

The version she made was a traditional one in which egg yolks are mixed with hot water to keep them from scrambling then tossed with hot pasta, bacon, loads of pecorino romano cheese and finished with a heavy dose of ground black pepper. It's delicious.

The second opportunity I had to try carbonara was at the Magic Pan a restaurant that I worked for during college. They made it in a very American manner using cream instead of egg and adding sauteed onions and mushrooms and some green peas along with the bacon. It actually was more delicious. That's right forgive me my Italian friends but it was.

I have over the years adapted the original Pan recipe to include egg yolks. It's rich it's decadent and it's so good you'll find that no amount of guilt will stop you from wanting to consume the whole plate. So just enjoy and stop feeling badly about eating rich things. If you eat them on occasion there's nothing wrong with it. After all if one is to feel guilty about something they might as well have enjoyed it!

Fettucini Carbonara ala Forrest

Ingredients


4 1/2 ounce Bacon Drippings 
8 tablespoons Mushrooms, quartered/halves
8 tablespoons Sautéed Onions
 8 tablespoons Precooked bacon, 1⁄2" pcs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
2 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley Chopped
8 Tablespoons Parmesan/Romano Cheese mix
10oz  Whipping Cream, un-whipped
3 egg yolks 
16 oz Fettuccini, cooked 
Salt to taste
loads of Black Pepper freshly ground

Method

In a sauté pan add the onions, mushrooms, bacon pieces, and cheese mix in a hot pan with the bacon drippings. Heat for several minutes. 
In another pot heat cream
In a bowl slowly add 1/4 cup of cream to the egg yolks and gently mix.
Add the cream and fettuccini and blend well with the other ingredients. 
Heat for several minutes.
Add egg mixture
Add chives
Do not allow the cream to cook too hard or hot or to evaporate—only heat the ingredients thoroughly. Pour the fettuccini onto a heated large oval platter. 
Sprinkle the chopped parsley over the top and serve. 








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