Bucatini Alla Carbonara

Name: Bucatini Alla Carbonara
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 1 tbl olive oil; 2 tbl unsalted butter; 4 oz pancetta or bacon diced; Generous pinch minced Italian parsley; 5 x egg yolks - (to 6); 2 tbl light cream; 3 tbl freshly-grated pecorino or Parmigiano plus additional to serve; 1 1/4 lb bucatini

An image of Bucatini Alla Carbonara

Sophia Loren's acclaimed film Two Women was shot mostly in a mountainous region two to three hours from Rome. Not far from the location was a small all-male community of charcoal workers who offered the cast and crew this pasta dish, Maccheroni alla Carbonara. The maccheroni - the pasta - were home-made, long, rather thick strands, with no hole through the center, irreverently called strozzapreti ("priest stranglers"). The incomparable director, Vittorio De Sica, and Sophia asked for seconds, and Loren made sure she was invited the next day to take notes on the recipe. This recipe is faithful to the way the men prepared it, but it will never have the same flavor as it did then. Carbonara is often served with a healthy sprinkling of freshly ground pepper over it, which some food scholars maintain represents a dusting of carbon powder. There also are those who say the dish was invented because the essential ingredients, bacon and eggs, were supplied by American GIs to cooks using charcoal burners in Rome itself, but Loren's experience would disprove this. Probably the GIs were simply the source of ingredients for a dish that already existed. In any case, Bucatini alla Carbonara remains a Roman specialty that a number of restaurants proudly prepare. If you cannot find bucatini, use thick spaghetti or penne. #italian #pasta #Rating5Stars Prep time: 20 min Cook time: 30 min Rating: 5 #Pasta

Ingredients

1 tbl olive oil

2 tbl unsalted butter

4 oz pancetta or bacon diced

Generous pinch minced Italian parsley

5 x egg yolks - (to 6)

2 tbl light cream

3 tbl freshly-grated pecorino or Parmigiano plus additional to serve

1 1/4 lb bucatini

Instructions

Heat the oil and butter in a pan, then add the pancetta and parsley; saute over medium heat to brown the pancetta well. In a bowl beat together the egg yolks, cream, and cheese.
Meanwhile, cook the bucatini until just a! dente. Drain the pasta well, and turn it out into a serving dish. Working quickly, pour first the pancetta mixture, then the beaten egg mixture over the pasta. Toss quickly to coat the strands with the sauce; the eggs will cook in the heat of the pasta.
Serve immediately while still hot. Pass additional cheese at the table.