Wow it’s been far too long since I’ve been on here posting a new recipe. Sorry for the lack of new creative content but I promise I’ll try to be better! For whatever reason I woke up today motivated and gained some energy after only 5 hours of sleep. I’ve been meaning to add this recipe for such a long time and I’m so glad I finally got my butt in the kitchen and did it. This one is good you guys. It’s your classic carbonara with a little spice and some extra crispy bacon bits. Really simple and only a small amount of ingredients are needed. Of course, you don’t have to make it spicy but I definitely recommend doing so. The spice comes from Calabrian chili paste and I love the flavor profile it adds to the dish. It’s spicy but not too spicy and has a sweetness to it that can’t be replicated by any other ingredient. You can find this paste at your local grocery store.. but I especially love the Williams Sonoma brand.
SPICY CARBONARA
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 30
Total time: 35 minutes
Serves: 2
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/2 lb spaghetti
- 5 strips hickory smoked bacon
- 1 tbsp butter, salted
- 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp Calabrian chili paste, more or less to taste
- 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked pepper
- 1/4 cup good quality parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 cup reserved pasta water
- Burrata cheese for topping (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
- In a small bowl combine pepper, Parmesan cheese, cream and eggs. Whisk together and set aside.
- Boil pasta till al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water for later use. Drain but do not rinse.
- Cook off the bacon until crispy. Remove from the pan and chop into small squares. Set aside bacon for now. Pour out any bacon fat left in the pan but do not rinse. Place pan back on the heat.
- Add butter, garlic and Calabrian chili paste to that same pan on medium low heat. Cook until aromatic, about 2-3 minutes. Turn heat to the lowest setting and add in the cooked spaghetti. Toss together.
- Add 1/4 cup reserved hot pasta water to the mixture from step 1. Whisk while slowly adding the water. Then slowly pour this mixture on top of the spaghetti while stirring the whole time. Continue to toss the pasta until the sauce thickens. This should only take a minute. Turn heat off and toss in the parsley.
- (Best served while hot. Although if you let it sit for a while, you can loosen up the sauce by turning the heat on low and adding small amount of reserved pasta water till the consistency is to your liking)
- Top with crispy bacon bits and burrata cheese.