There Will Be Bacon

jessicasuss
Sep 28, 2012
2 min read

In honor of the impending bacon shortage (aka the apocalypse) and to keep a promise to blog about something even easier to cook than meatloaf, today we'll be talking about spaghetti alla carbonara, a classic Italian dish made by miner's wives that is cheap, easily made, and packed with protein.

There are two important things to understand about carbonara. The first is that less is more: don't feel the need to put in 7 slices of bacon because you'll lose all the fantastic subtlety that comes as a result of all the ingredients coming together.

The second is that you can technically make carbonara with nothing more than parmesan cheese, bacon, eggs and pasta and get the general overview but putting other stuff in it makes it taste a lot better.

Regarding the baconpocalypse, you can blame the Brits and the American Midwest for shrinking herd sizes and a desire to cut production costs, respectively. So that said, eat all the bacon you can lay your hands on.

Oh also you can make carbonara with pancetta for a different, subtler flavor if the mood strikes you. Tommy and I bought pancetta once at the mercado and when we cooked it the smell (a boot soaked in urine drying in the hot sun) was so foul I had to put the frying pan outside. Not sure what went wrong but we're off pancetta for now and shelled out for good ol' Oscar Meyer instead. Maybe we didn't even buy pancetta? Who knows. But gross.

I also used parmesano reggiano instead of plain parmesan for a little bit of added bite but also because plain parmesan cheese doesn't seem to exist in Alicante. Criminal.

Ingredients:

1/4 lb of spaghetti (two servings from the box)

2 eggs

1/3 c. finely grated parmesan cheese

2 slices bacon

1/4 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tbs. dry white wine (optional)

1 pinch coarsely ground black pepper

1 tsp. fresh parsley, minced

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove from pan and crumble into small pieces.

Set aside. Reserve the bacon grease.

2. In that same saucepan, saute the onion and garlic until translucent and fragrant. Add the white wine in the last minute or so of cooking. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. Cook pasta according to instructions on the box. While the pasta is cooking, lightly beat the eggs and grated parmesean together in a small bowl and set aside.

4. Drain the pasta and put back into the pot. Add the cracked pepper, the onion/garlic mixture and the crumbled bacon, stir well.

5.Let the pasta cool for a minute or so and then quickly add all of the egg and cheese mixture, stirring the pasta well the entire time to coat evenly. Continue to stir for 30 seconds or so to ensure that there is no liquid sticking to the sides of the pot. Serve immediately with the parsley and more grated parmesan if desired.

8:30 PM (approx.)