Servings: 4-6 

Time: 45 minutes

My family was at a New York City restaurant this weekend, and my thirteen year old son was trying to decide between two dishes. One of them was Carbonara.  So he said “mom, can you make Carbonara at home for me?”  I told him I could give it a try.  He said, “great, I’ll get the other dish and then you can make me Carbonara at home.” I had never tried to make Carbonara before and was surprised at the simplicity! It was also a crowd pleaser for my entire family. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 lb. pasta (I prefer linguine or thick spaghetti)
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• 4-6 ounces pancetta, thick cut
• 1 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 4 cloves of garlic
• ½ cup pasta cooking water
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Parsley, finely chopped for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

1. In a large pasta serving bowl, whisk together eggs and parmigiano reggiano. Set aside.
2. Start to boil pasta water along with 1 tablespoon of salt and add pasta once boiling rapidly.
3. In a large pan, heat your olive oil and add the pancetta and slowly brown until crisp.
4. Turn heat low and add garlic – you don’t want to brown your garlic – just lightly cook until fragrant.
5. Once pasta is done cooking – set aside about ½ cup of the water to help thicken the sauce. 
6. Add cooked pasta to the pan with olive oil, pancetta and garlic. Toss until fully coated.
7. Add hot pasta to the large pasta boil with egg/cheese. Add a little of the starchy, pasta water at a time and mix each time until you have the consistency of sauce you wish for.
8. Add salt and pepper during this process to your taste preferences.
9. Garnish with parsley and extra parmigiano reggiano if you wish.