by Kaleigh Horton

Orcas High School Senior

Since Italian food is the cuisine I am most interested in for my restaurant, I decided to go with a classic. Pasta is liked by most everyone and is great for large groups of people or just as an easy meal after a long day at work.

A little bit about this dish:

Spaghetti carbonara originated in Rome as an urban dish during WWII when the United States was supplying Italy with a lot of eggs and bacon.

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 5 minutes.

Total time: 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups spaghetti noodles

⅓ cup parmesan cheese

1 cup pancetta, diced

2 eggs

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Start by boiling 4 quarts of water. You will want to add about a tablespoon of salt to the water.

Salt helps to keep the starch from getting goopy and sticking together. It also helps to directly season the pasta and gives it a better texture.

When putting the spaghetti noodles in the water I highly recommend not breaking them in half. They are the length they are for a reason. Boil the pasta for about 2 minutes less than the al dente instructions. It will finish cooking with your meat.

While the pasta is cooking, grab a large bowl and add the eggs, cheese, salt and pepper to taste, then whisk together. I find forks to work the same as a whisk with less getting stuck to it. When the pasta is almost done, begin frying the pancetta using a nonstick pan, you only want to fry it for a couple minutes. It won’t need more than that.

When the pasta is ready, add it to the pan with the pancetta and olive oil.

The olive oil is here for taste and to make sure the pasta doesn’t stick. Please don’t substitute it for another kind.

Let it cook for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently. Once done, add it to your large bowl and toss it straight away. This will ensure you don’t scramble your eggs.

DO NOT add the eggs to the frying pan! Add the pasta to the bowl!

Garnish:

You can add more cheese and/or pepper for garnish. That’s it, a simple and delicious pasta without the time commitment of a spaghetti!