Confession: I have often heard people rave about spaghetti carbonara but I just couldn't imagine eggs combined with my pasta so shrugged off ever giving it a try. Yesterday, when trying to come up with a non-PBJ answer to "What's for lunch?", this dish was mentioned. Shannon and Tyler were game for making it, so this is what we had. Let me just say, YUM!! I will definitely be making this again!!
Ingredients:
- 1 lb pasta
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 6-8 slices of bacon, diced (we used our thick-cut hickory bacon)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 1/2 c Parmesan cheese, grated
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped
- ~2 TBSP Parmesan cheese, grated as a topping
Directions:
- Prepare pasta to al dente (~4 minutes or so); drain well and toss with 1 TBSP of the olive oil. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, cook the bacon pieces until slightly crisp, remove and drain on paper towel. Reserve 2 TBSP of the bacon fat, add in the remaining olive oil (1 TBSP) and heat over medium, cooking the onion until translucent. Add in the garlic and cook for another minute.
- Return the cooked bacon pieces to the pan, add in the cooked pasta, tossing with tongs (if the pasta seems dry or is sticking together, add another splash of olive oil). Add the beaten eggs, continually tossing with tongs until the eggs are almost set. Add in the Parmesan cheese, tossing again. Season with salt and pepper to taste, keeping in mind that the bacon and Parmesan cheese will impart quite a bit of saltiness.
- Serve immediately, garnishing with fresh chopped parsley and the additional Parmesan cheese if desired.