Spaghetti Carbonara (The Original Italian Recipe)

In celebration of my parents’ 24^th wedding anniversary, I prepared a simple dinner for the family. It was an opportunity to gather everyone around the dining table once again. In this day and age, it really necessitates a huge effort to make everyone eat dinner together, what with all the work, school, and social activities of every family member. Instead of the usual spaghetti, pizza, and cake that we have for celebrations, I decided to make something different… something special that we usually don’t prepare at home. Thus, I decided to have spaghetti carbonara, homemade cheeseburger, and creamy fruit salad on the menu.
I would like to share my recipe of the original Italian Spaghetti Carbonara. Unlike the Pinoy version of the carbonara which makes use of cream, my version makes use of eggs and cheese only for the sauce.
This recipe makes 20 single servings. But if spaghetti is the only one in the menu, perhaps this would be enough for 8 people with a voracious appetite.
So here are the ingredients:

• 1 dozen eggs
• 800 grams of cheese
• 500 grams bacon (preferably lean meat)
• 1 can of mushrooms (pieces and stems)
• 1 kilogram of spaghetti (preferred brand: Royal)
• Fresh parsley
• Garlic (around 4-5 cloves)
• White onion (around ¼ of a large onion)
• Salt and pepper
• Cooking oil

Now, here are the instructions:

1.  Prepare the boiling water for the pasta. Fill a large pot with 8 liters of water. Add a tablespoon of oil and 8 teaspoons of salt. Bring to a boil.
2. While waiting for the water to boil, get the 12 eggs and beat them until the yolk is mixed with the white. Then add 700 grams of grated cheese. The remaining 100 grams will be used as toppings later on. Mix the cheese thoroughly with the eggs until you get a smooth creamy mixture. Set aside.
3. Next, you fry the bacon and cut them into little pieces. Using the same pan, sauté the garlic first until slightly golden brown. Sauté the white onion next until it becomes translucent. Then you fry the mushroom slices. Set aside.
4. Add the pasta to the rapidly boiling water. Cook pasta for 10-12 minutes or until al dente.
5. After cooking pasta, remove from heat and completely drain the water. Do not rinse with warm water. Add the egg and cheese mixture. Mix well.
6. Next, add the bacon and mushroom mixture. Mix well.
7. Serve while hot. Garnish with parsley and extra cheese on top.

That’s it. This is a very simple and easy to do recipe. It took me an hour to do everything by myself from scratch. Here’s the finished product:

Try it and let me know how it goes. Enjoy and eat well!
 Tips:

• People usually add oil or butter after cooking the pasta to prevent them from sticking to one another. However, when you do that, the sauce does not stick to pasta and it does not become flavourful. So the technique is to constantly stir the pasta while it is still cooking. This prevents them from sticking to one another. And also do not underestimate the power of adding salt. The technique is to add a teaspoon of salt for every liter of water. Don’t worry because the pasta would not absorb the saltiness of the water.
• For the sauce, you can add more cheese if you want. It’s best if you use mozzarella or parmiggiano. I used cheddar cheese and it still tasted great.
• Also for the sauce, you can add around half a cup of water just so you can have a really smooth mixture. Don’t add too much water though.
• The amount of garlic and onion will really vary according to your preference.
• Never add pasta until the water is rapidly boiling. Then make sure that the water will rapidly boil again as soon as possible after placing the pasta in it.
• To know when the pasta is already al dente, take a string of noodle and taste it. If it is still hard in the center, boil for a few more minutes. Don’t forget to stir every once in a while to prevent pasta from sticking to one another. Also don’t overcook it.
• It is very important that the pasta is very hot when you add the sauce because the heat from the pasta will cook the egg. It will result in a really creamy sauce.
• Reheating instructions: Place in a covered pan with about 4 tablespoons of water. Heat over low fire. This will prevent the pasta from being burnt/toasted. 🙂