1 lb spaghetti (thin), rotini or equival, ent pasta
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb pancetta or bacon
1 medium yellow onion (chopped)
1/2 cup cold water
1/4 cup italian white wine, dry
4 eggs
4 tbsp heavy cream
8 tbsp parmesan cheese (grated)
Directions
Put large bowl in oven to warm at lowest possible setting. Soak
chopped onion in cold water for 15 minutes to reduce pungency. Chop
Pancetta or bacon into 1/4-inch x 1-inch strips.
Beat eggs and cream together with a fork. Add about 4 T Parmesan
cheese to the mixture.
Wash pasta. Put on water to cook pasta. Add pasta when boiling. In
the meantime...
Dry onions and saute with pancetta or bacon in olive oil until onions
are barely translucent. Add wine and reduce heat when initial
boiling ceases. Meat should not be crisp.
When pasta is cooked, drain, but DO NOT WASH. Quickly remove bowl
from oven, put pasta in it and toss with egg, cream and cheese
mixture so that heat from pasta cooks eggs. Add meat, onions and wine
without draining fat and toss until thoroughly mixed. Sprinkle
remaining cheese to taste, toss and serve immediately.
NOTES:
* Spaghetti Carbonara, Neapolitan Style -- My wife and I had the
pleasure of staying at the Villa Virgiliana (owned by The Vergilian
Society) in Cuma, Italy just outside of Naples in June, 1985. Biagio
and Maria Sgariglia, the proprietors of the villa, served us
excellent Italian farm meals for a week, each meal being more
delicious than the last. This dish was the gastronomic highlight of
our stay.
* Pasta should be cooked AL DENTE so that it offers resistance to the
teeth without crunching. Fresh pasta is desirable (dried pasta is a
poor imitation of the real thing.) Pasta should be used immediately
when done so as to stop its internal cooking. If both portions of the
recipe cannot be completed at the same time, the meat and onion
mixture should finish first.
* I have made a very successful variation on this using hot country
sausage. Make sure the sausage is fairly lean if you try it, however.
All of the quantities are adjustable and may depend on the kind of
pasta or meat you use. Too much cream will cause the egg mixture to
separate from the pasta and meat. Too little cream will essentially
give you scrambled eggs and bacon with pasta.
: Difficulty: moderate to hard (timing is critical).
: Time: 30 minutes.
: Precision: measure the ingredients.
: Byron Howes
: North Carolina Education Computing Service, Research Triangle Park,
NC : bch@ecsvax or {akgua,decvax}!mcnc!ecsvax!bch
: Copyright (C) 1986 USENET Community Trust
Servings: 3 servings
Biagio's Spaghetti Carbonara Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Italian; Pasta
The History of Recipes
Recipes as a concept can be found far back into ancient history, in fact as far back into recorded history as pharonic Egypt, and possibly even further. Interesting though that is, sadly, these old records were just basic pictorial recipes for meal preparation.
In an interesting twist, the most ancient recipe discovered, according to academics are some clay tablets in ancient Sumerian describing the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making those who drank it feel blissful. Progressing into Roman times 25BC a roman called Apicius created a collection of documents showing how to cook the recipes prepared by his fellow Romans. He recounts how the meals of wealthy Romans were separated into hors d`oeuvres, entrees and desserts, known in latin as `Gustatio, Primae Mensae and Secundae Mensae`. This early Roman chef informs us how the chefs of Roman times were skilled in the use of many spices and herbs, including a few you will know such as basil, mint and dill. Continuing our culinary historical journey, there were a couple of books published in the 1300s ; a cookery book titled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary called `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are somewhat misleading tho`, these books are nothing to do with the indian curry that is served today, but instead recipes for the types of meals prepared for the nobility of the period. Later on, in the 15th century, people returning from the crusades brought us many new foods and spices from the holy land, such as basil and coriander. These new foods and tastes caused a surge in recipe books, some of which are kept safe in private libraries. By the arrival of the 1900s, cookbooks were in great demand, as a result of higher levels of literacy, people having increased free time and having more money. |
We hope you enjoy this Biagio's Spaghetti Carbonara recipe.
