Rain+gloom+wind+chill+long work day+starving+alone= pasta.
Wanting some comfort from long rough days I'll turn to pasta. Always. I had all the necessary ingredients for some good ol' pasta carbonara so I went to town. This dish is really simple one but the flavors are just so good. It's essentially breakfast pasta. Bacon and egg pasta. HOW can you go wrong?!
In my best Rosanna Pansino impression... the things you will need areeee:
-1 lb spaghetti
-4 egg yolks (Don't throw away the whites, give them to your body builder roommate or make some devine macarons for yourself!)
-3 tbs grated parmesan cheese
-1 cup panko bread crumbs
-8 pieces of bacon (I won't judge if you use more- mo bacon, mo betta!)
-1 tsp garlic powder
-Various small amounts of olive oil, salt, and pepper.
1. In a large stock pot, boil some water, salt it well, and throw your pasta in. Cook until just underdone- you're going to finish it off in a pan. **When your pasta is done, reserve a couple cups of the water, you may need it later.**
2. Toss the panko crumbs with a drizzle of olive oil, some salt and pepper to taste, and the garlic powder. Mix well.
3. Place the panko in a small frying pan on medium heat. Make sure to keep this moving, you want the panko to turn a golden brown, not black.
4. Cut the bacon into small pieces (use kitchen scissors- way easier).Throw it into a large skillet- this will eventually become the final resting place for your pasta, so make sure it's big enough. Once the Bacon has crisped up to your liking, set aside for later. And for the love of God, don't toss that bacon fat. Leave it all hanging out in there. (I didn't say this was a diet dish. Who wants diet food after a bad day? No one.)
5. Now back to the breadcrumbs- how are they doing? Once they are golden, take off the heat and set aside.
6. By now, your pasta should be at the correct doneness. Turn off the heat and let it sit until the bacon pan is ready for the pasta party.
7. Put the bacon pan back on medium high heat. Once it starts to sizzle a bit, take your pasta directly from the water and put it into the bacon. Once it's all in there, toss it around a bit so that everything is coated with bacon and fat and FLAVOR.
8. Once that's all good and cooked take the pan off the heat.
9. Whisk the yolks together with the parmesan cheese, salt, and lots of pepper.
10. Check again to be sure the pan is not on any heat at all- it's ok if the pan is warm, just not on heat. You don't want scrambled eggs. Just silky, yummy, glorious goodness. If you're worried about raw eggs, don't be. The heat from the pasta and bacon will cook the yolks : )
11. Toss the yolks into the pan, constantly stirring so they don't curdle up. If it needs some thinning out, pour in some of the reserved pasta water and stir it through. It will be thin at first, but will thicken nicely from the starch in the water as your stir.
12. Add the panko and toss it all together and there you go!
It's a seriously fast and comforting dinner that's perfect for just you, or maybe you and your lovah (Lady and the Tramp style), or even a whole group of people. It can easily be accommodated for more or less people- just add and subtract egg yolks. The general rule is depending on the egg sizes, 1-2 yolks per person. And you get get all fancy with this one, instead of bacon, you can use get on Giada's level and break out the pancetta! More popular additions to this dish are peas and shallots.
So the next time you're having a bad day, get in your comfy pants and try this one. It's easy and comforting and just all around good!
-Meaghan
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