Tag: spaghetti
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Spaghetti Carbonara
Traditional Spaghetti Carbonara consists of pasta, a beaten egg, hard aged Italian cheese and guanciale. I use pancetta or shortcut bacon if I don’t have any of the latter.
I love this version just as much as the one I make with heavy cream. Check it out here – Spaghetti Carbonara With Cream.
The Technique
A couple hundred grams of fresh spaghetti (I used bucatini made in my Philips Pasta And Noodle Maker) feeds two hungry adults.
Boil the pasta al dente and then drain most but not all of the water. Add fried bacon, aged Italian hard cheese and beaten egg.
Here I have used 200g of pasta, 3 rashers of short bacon, 80g of aged Italian hard cheese (a mix of Calcagno Pecorino With Black Peppercorns and Parmigiano-Reggiano) and the reserved pasta water.
If you like it runnier, use two eggs and a bit more of the pasta water.
Enjoy,
PK
Here are some more Italian food and pasta recipe posts:
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PK Makes Spaghetti Cacio E Pepe (Cheese And Pepper)
Oh my goodness. This dish is well.. amazing. My head is spinning, I used to have a favourite pasta but now I can’t choose. 🙂
I posted about Spaghetti Aglio e Olio recently and said that upon tasting it ‘I had died and gone to heaven’. So my friend and fellow blogger, Gus, set me a new challenge in this dish.
I looked into many recipes online but you know I am a lazy cook, so I used a cheese that already had peppercorns in it. Meet Calcagno Pecorino With Black Peppercorns. The result is a moreish pasta in an emulsified sauce to die for with the peppercorns and cheese being the headline act.
You will be:
- Preparing the sauce and cheese
- Cooking the pasta
- Coating the pasta
- Serving
You will need:
- Ingredients (feeds 1 hungry adult but scales well):
- ~200g freshly made spaghetti
- 2/3 cup Calcagno Pecorino – You can any aged cheese that has whole black peppercorns added prior to the aging process.
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- A good slug of olive oil
- Freshly cracked black peppercorns to taste
- Equipment:
- Cheese grater/planer
- Chopping board
- Sauce pan
- Fry pan
- Wooden spoon
- Tongs
Preparing the sauce and cheese
- Gently warm the butter and oil until the butter has melted.
- Turn off the hob, letting the remaining heat keep the butter melted but not hot.
- Add some oil to the pasta water and cook the pasta al dente,
Coating the pasta
- Drain the pasta but keep some of the water in the sauce pan.
- Move the spaghetti into the now almost cool fry pan (containing the oil/butter sauce) using the tongs in small batches.
- Add cheese, stir some and repeat.
Serving
This dish needs nothing but a plate and a fork. 🙂
Enjoy,
PK
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PK’s Spaghetti Aglio E Olio (Garlic And Oil)
This traditional Neapolitan pasta dish could not be simpler nor more sublime. The first time I made this spaghetti tossed in garlic and olive oil, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. 🙂
How amazing is this? You only need flour, water, garlic, olive oil and cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano if you have it).
You will never look in your cupboard again and say ‘I have nothing to eat!’.
How Do I Do It?
Boil a pot of water and cook your spaghetti al dente. I used home made spaghetti which I made with a friend’s Philips Pasta Maker.
I left a bit of water in the pan with the pasta ie I didn’t let the water and steam dissipate fully.
While the pasta is cooking you need to heat a good splash of olive oil and diced garlic. Experiment with amounts and ratios, more pasta needs more of both (mostly oil).
Chop up a ton of parsley and mix it into the pasta.
Then chuck the pasta into the oil and continue to cook for a bit. Here I am letting some of the water boil off.
Serve hot with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, cracked black peppercorns and a bit more parsley.
Enjoy,
PK
Related Links:
- Pasta dishes here
- Italian cuisine here
- NoRecipe goodness
- Dishes using Parmigiano-Reggiano (parmesan)
- Dishes using cheese
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15 MINUTE MEALS
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Spaghetti Carbonara With Cream
This rich creamy spaghetti carbonara will not win any health awards but jeapers it is tasty. 🙂
It also isn’t particularly authentic due to the addition of cream. I love the more traditional egg only version too (Spaghetti Carbonara) but this one is my go to comfort food pasta dish.
I make it in large batches as it freezes really well. Remember to use a low power setting on the microwave though when reheating.
You will be:
- Preparing everything
- Cooking the pasta
- Cooking the bacon and garlic
- Bringing it all together
- Serving
You will need:
- Ingredients:
- 6 to 9 rashers shortcut bacon
- 500g dried pasta
- 100g Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 200ml double cream (called heavy cream in other countries)
- 2 eggs
- 2 garlic cloves
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- a sprinkle or two of ground nutmeg
- a handful of fresh basil leaves
- half a handful of fresh oregano leaves
- a generous slug of olive oil
- table salt for the pasta water to taste
- Equipment:
- a long sharp knife
- a chopping board
- a whisk or fork for the eggs
- a fry pan
- a large pan to cook the pasta
Preparing everything
- Chop the 6 to 9 rashers of bacon (shortcut bacon is pretty lean but if you are using other types try remove most of the fat and rind if you like).
- Finely grate the 100g of parmigiano-reggiano (you can use parmesan but I recommend you try the real deal).
- Roughly chop the handfuls of basil and oregano leaves.
- Peel and finely dice the 2 garlic cloves.
- Whisk the 2 eggs.
- Fold the whisked eggs into the 200ml of double cream.
Cooking the pasta
- Put a large pot of water on the boil.
- Add a slug of olive oil and a good dash of salt to the water.
- Cook the pasta al dente while you do the next part.
Cooking the bacon and garlic
Throw a slug of olive oil into a fry pan along with the 2 sliced garlic cloves and cook the 6 rashers of chopped bacon.
Bringing it all together
- Drain the pasta but keep some of the water to adjust the amount of liquid in the finished dish.
- Add the pasta to the fry pan and on very low heat gently mix everything.
- Fold in the egg/cream mix, cheese, oregano, basil and some of the reserved pasta water until you get the consistency you like.
Serving
Serve directly with a large crusty garlic bread in the center of the table. It is great to watch your family and friends literally breaking bread with you.
Have cracked black pepper and extra cheese available of course. 🙂
A wine site I like, winefolly.com, suggests full bodied white wines or light bodied reds.
Enjoy,
PK
Here are some more Italian food and pasta recipe posts:
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Pasta: Spaghetti, Spaghettoni, Capellini And Bucatini
Spaghetti is my favourite type of pasta, especially the hollow version (called bucatini) as I find the texture nicer and it holds the sauce better.
For most of us, spaghetti is the convenient form of long circular strands of dried pasta (pasta secca) made from wheat and water. Home-made raw pasta (pasta fresca) can have the addition of eggs and or fresh herbs to add colour/taste.
I like to make my own using my Philips Pasta And Noodle Maker:
Very thick spaghetti is called spaghettoni. Very thin spaghetti is called capellini and is perfect in salads and soups.
To cook dried spaghetti I bring a large pot of water to the boil adding a slug of olive oil and a generous dash of salt.
I then add the pasta and cook until the pasta sticks to the splash back when you throw a piece at it. I do this to test if the pasta is al dente. This simply means that the pasta is almost cooked and still a little firm. This state is desirable because the pasta will keep cooking after you drain it and even as it is served. You don’t want over cooked pasta. 🙂
Drain (reserving some pasta water to make your sauces) and then cover in a light red or white sauce or simply fold in a raw whisked egg and olive oil. Indeed, Spaghetti Aglio E Olio is one of my favourite comfort foods.
Enjoy,
PK
Here are a couple of more pasta shape and pasta recipe posts.
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