Spaghetti Carbonara

When I was in Italy, I didn't ever eat spaghetti carbonara. I don't know why, maybe it was the description - Spaghetti with bacon and eggs. That just didn't sound that appetizing. Besides, every version of spaghetti carbonara I'd had before was a heavy, creamy, cheesy, gut-bomb. So I didn't think I'd enjoy it.

And then for some reason something prompted me to look up spaghetti carbonara recipes on the google. They all sounded pretty good. I ended up deciding to use this one, except I realized that if I was just making this for me (Ed claimed to not want any, so I made it for lunch, since I desperately wanted it), I didn't need a full pound's-worth of spaghetti. So, I cut the recipe by a bunch. Which means that its no longer like the one I was going to use. Well, its still like it, but I was no longer following it.

The ingredients:

4oz (1/4 box) dry spaghetti
1 egg
2 slices bacon
2 cloves garlic
1/4C chopped parsley
1/4C frozen peas
3-4 tbs grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Put a big pot of water on to boil. Chop the bacon to a size you consider bite-size. Cook it until it looks about halfway done, then add the chopped garlic. Cook the garlic until its toasty-golden looking, it should smell divine. Set this aside if its done early.

Break the egg into a big bowl, and beat it for a bit. Add the cheese, some salt, and some pepper. Once the water is at a roiling boil, cook the spaghetti until it is al dente. Drain it, and immediately add it to the egg mixture. Do not let it just sit there or it will cook the egg into scrambled eggs, you don't want this. You do want it to cook the egg, though, but just not scramble it. As soon as you've added the spaghetti to the egg start stirring, and stir vigorously for a minute or so. Finally, when your arm is exhausted, stop stirring and add the bacon, garlic, peas, and parsley.

From my tastings, this was better while still fresh and warm, but it warmed up nicely for lunch, too. Hence the gorgeous picture of pasta in a tupperware...