Allow Me to Digress

This week is special because I made something that is not tuna or macaroni or salad.   

Project Carbonara

I searched the Internet for "simple carbonara recipe" and the easiest recipes that I’ve found were those using a can of cream of mushroom soup for the sauce (I tried that before).  I was about to settle for that - until I found recipes on authentic carbonara.   

Lazy Aileen said, "Cream of mushroom soup?  That’s good enough! Better than doing another combination of tuna, macaroni, and salad."

Motivated, adventurous Aileen said, "It may be harder but if I were to make something new anyway, why not go for the authentic one?"

No, I’m not a schizo nor do I have split personality. Now let’s hear what my friend Wiki has to say about carbonara:

Carbonara is a traditional Italian pasta sauce. Carbonara means coal, and many believe the dish derives its name because it was popular among coal miners. Others believe, however, that the dish is called carbonara simply because of all the black, freshly milled pepper that is used.

Carbonara recipes vary but they are all made from eggs, black pepper, and pancetta or guanciale (pig’s cheek or jowl bacon). Other ingredients in Italian versions of the dish include Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese. Some recipes also include cream or milk, garlic, and parsley, although this is not the original, Roman version of the dish. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonara

Ok, you must be complaining by now that this is the wordiest recipe you’ve ever read (Aileen, you talk too much!  Where’s the recipe?!) but then again, read the title of my blog - I’m allowed to digress.  Here’s the recipe, with some of my comments.

(Source:  http://www.recipezaar.com/143726)
Ingredients:
8  ounces linguine, cooked drained and rinsed (or any kind of pasta of your choice) 
8  slices bacon 
1  bunch green onions, sliced  (leeks may do - are they the same?)
4  ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced  (I bought the canned button mushrooms.)
2/3  cup parmesan cheese, grated
3  eggs, room temperature 
2/3  cup cream, room temperature
2  teaspoons parsley flakes 
salt & pepper 

4 servings Change size or US/metric
Change to:  servings US Metric
 
40 minutes 10 mins prep (For beginners, it took me around 1.5 hours to do this… with help too.  hehe

1.  In frying pan brown bacon and crumble in pan. (I fried 10 strips. My friend Ivy said the more bacon, the better. Thanks Ivy!)

2.  Remove all fat from pan except for about one tablespoon.

3.  Add onion and mushrooms to bacon, saute until soft.

4. In bowl beat eggs, add other ingredients and mix; set aside. (Should parmesan cheese be included in the mixture? I would try that next time… they don’t have parmesan cheese here. I just topped my pasta with grated cheddar cheese before eating it.)

5.  Add rinsed, cooked noodles to frying pan with the bacon, onions and mushrooms; heat through. (Heat through. I repeat, heat it really well. You might have an upset stomach afterwards if you didn’t because you’ll be pouring the raw egg mixture next!)

6.  Just before serving, remove from heat and add bowl of egg mixture to hot noodle mixture and mix. (I was quite nervous when I was doing this step! I was really hoping this will work.)

7.  Serve immediately. (Very important! I have the leftovers heated and of course it didn’t taste as good. I had little bits of eggs on my pasta.)

Aftermath:
My tummy did feel a little bit funny but that was just for a short while.  I think it was psychological - thinking about the raw eggs mixed with the noodles.  I don’t like the smell of raw beaten eggs.   

General comment:  This is the best that I’ve ever cooked so far!

Here are just some lessons I’ve learned:

1.  When in doubt, ask.   
I wasn’t so sure about the last step - I don’t have to cook the "sauce" at all? I’m going to eat the beaten eggs raw?  I was thinking of heating the sauce a bit, but good thing I called my friend Clara first to confirm that the instruction in the recipe is correct.  (If i had thought about it harder i would have realized it’s definitely a no-no.)

2.  When in doubt and there’s no one to ask, don’t.
Oregano instead of parsley?  I was about to trust my judgment because I didn’t want to bother Clara again.  Good thing I didn’t trust my judgment and I believed that Clara and I are really good friends that she wouldn’t mind being bothered again.

I learned that it should be parsley flakes or nothing.  No oregano. (Is there a substitute for parsley?)  "Everything McCormick" doesn’t work in this recipe. Obviously I need a course on Spices 101.   

So if Clara didn’t reply to my text message, I should just have omitted parsley.

If I can do it, you can do it too!

Thanks Clara, my on-call "kitchen support," for saving my carbonara.  This post is for you. :)  Kurarameisan, doumo arigatou gozaimasu!   

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 4th, 2006 at 11:55 pm and is filed under Edibles and Other Related Stuff. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.