Ciao a tutti!
Last night I decided to make dinner for my host family and, being that I am half Italian, I decided to make one of my favorite pastas: Carbonara! There are a couple of myths that explain the origins of Pasta alla Carbonara. My favorite story says that the pasta was invented during World War II when the Americans brought loads of bacon and powdered eggs to Italy since they were part of the military rations. Then, through the inspiration of a Roman chef, Carbonara was born! So it’s no wonder it’s my favorite 
I have yet to find a dish that I do not like in Spain and my host mom is a phenomenal cook (you can’t find a better Spanish tortilla than hers). And if you get over the fact that you are slicing an animal’s thigh, pata negra is quite delicious (*vegetarians beware*)
I guess Italians have their fair share of odd foods like the red caviar and tartufo nero cracker composition I made over Christmas break…
But anyway, I decided to include the recipe for Pasta alla Carbonara so you can try it at home. Traditionally, one would use spaghetti for the carbonara, but my favorite pasta is penne so I decided to switch things up a bit.
Here’s the recipe:
What you’ll need:
-600 grams of pasta
-150 grams of pecorino cheese
-4 egg yokes and 1 whole egg
-250 grams of bacon
-salt for the pasta
-a pinch of pepper (if you like)
• Start boiling water to fit about 600 grams of pasta. I measure out the pasta by placing raw pasta in a bowl to see just about how much I need to for 4 people. *remember: when cooked, the pasta expands!*
•while the water is boiling, slice up the bacon into bite size strips. Place the bacon in a frying and cool until light brown. You don’t need to add any oil or butter because the fat from the bacon serves the same purpose. You don’t want your sauce to be too greasy! Once cooked, allow to cool.
•Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box.
•While the pasta is cooking, mix the 4 egg yokes and 1 whole egg with the pecorino cheese.
•Once the bacon is cooled, add it to the egg and cheese mixture.
•Once you have strained the pasta, place it back into the pot WHILE IT’S HOT and add the carbonara sauce. The heat from the pasta will slightly solidify the eggs to form a creamy and delicious pasta alla carbonara.
•Enjoy!
And last but not least, among the many things I miss, she’s up there on the list:
I hope you’ve enjoyed my post. Let me know how your carbonara turns out
Sofía
More Blogs From This Author
View All Blogs
Sofia Wiener
<p><span style="color: rgb(29, 29, 29); font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; background-color: rgb(237, 237, 237);">Sofia--perhaps Sofía is more fitting in this case--is a third year Philosophy and Spanish Literature student at Fordham University. Some of her interests include photography, translating, singing, learning foreign languages, and cats--specifically red chubby ones. As the daughter of a Milanese mother, and New Yorker father, with a passion for Latin America, Sofia often finds herself lost in translation sipping on her favorite drink--yerba mate. She wants to spend her semester abroad in Madrid, Spain with her eyes wide open to live the experience to the full allowing you to take a step into her life. ¡Ven a ver!</span></p>
