“Carbonara” My Way

Not so Italian Carbonara, or simply: the way we make it at home far from Italy:-)

Pasta with various sauces is one of my favorite meals. I prefer this recipe to the original one, as the flavors are less intense, and the sauce is very mild and creamy – liked by all and kids in particular. Italian chefs would not permit us calling pasta with cream – Carbonara – but let us not concern ourselves with it. I’m sure you rarely use raw eggs in food when cooking at home, so by adding cream instead of egg yolks, you get a chance to eat some leftover the following day too.

I perfected this recipe over the years, by changing ingredients’ ratios till I got a perfect dish, that may not stand a chance as Italian restaurant meal but would make your mouth water in your cozy home kitchen. I like when the sauce is a little thick, so as I base, I am using a bechamel sauce which I add in the middle of cooking. It is silky, cheesy with crunchy carrots and bacon, and the parsley add an extra freshness to it.

Ingredients:

• 500 gr pasta of your choice (usually I use spaghetti or penne)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 250 gr bacon (diced into cubes)
• 2 gloves garlic
• 1 tsp of Dijon mustard
• 75 ml dry white vine
• 1 small carrot (diced into small cubes)
• 200 ml cream (10-15%)
• fresh parsley
• 1 portion of bechamel sauce (50 gr butter, 50 gr flour, 500 ml milk, 50 gr cheese, salt, white pepper, nutmeg)

 Instructions:

1. For the bechamel: melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook while stirring constantly until sandy brown. Add the warm milk and whisk it till smooth, then bring it to a boil. Add the spices and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Remove from the heat and add the cheese. Cover it with fresh foil to prevent a skin from forming and set aside.
2. For the sauce: Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Put 1 tbsp of olive oil and the bacon, after 3-4 minutes add the carrots, cook stirring until the bacon is crisp, then add the smashed garlic, 1 tbsp of Dijon mustard, stir and cook for 1 more minute, add the white vine and increase the heat, so the alcohol can evaporate. In case there is too much access fat from the bacon you can take out a part of it.
3. Add the bechamel into your pan, then add the cream and cook for 5-10 minutes all together. Add freshly chopped parsley at the end.
4. IMPORTANT – most of the time I am not adding additional salt to the dish at all, because the bacon and the cheese are salty enough.
5. Prepare the pasta: cook it as instructed on the package.