It has been quite cool here in Melbourne for the past couple of weeks and yesterday was freezing – only 12°C with icy winds from the snow fields and lots of rain! Winter has come a month early! Apart from soup, there’s nothing better than a hot bowl of creamy carbonara for lunch to make you feel toasty and forget the rainy mess outside.
I’ve made this pasta carbonara many times over the seven years my husband & I have been together. He says that this is probably the best carbonara ever! When I made this, I used the great smokey free range bacon from The Otways (see the In my Kitchen post from May).
This is my go-to pasta dish whenever I need comfort food, as its creamy (you’d think it was made with cream, not milk), it’s ready in 25 minutes and majority of this dish is done in one pan (less washing up – BONUS!) Is this ticking all your boxes yet?!
Antonnio Carluccio says people get carbonara ‘completely wrong’. The main ingredients should be bacon, eggs and parmesan only but I can’t help using milk. I need some creaminess in my life.
TIPS
When stirring in the egg, take the pan off the heat. If you add the egg while still on the heat, you could possibly end up with scrambled eggs instead of creamy pasta carbonara.
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My husband loved the crispy bacon on top of the pasta. I preferred the bacon stirred through – add the bacon once the egg has been stirred through.
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If you don’t have chicken stock in your pantry, fridge or freezer, I always have powdered chicken stock on hand. Add 1 teaspoon to 1 cup boiling water and instant chicken stock.
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Make sure your saucepan is the correct size so the pasta is completely covered by the chicken stock and milk.
INGREDIENTS:
FOR CARBONARA:
3 cups penne pasta
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups milk
1 garlic clove, grated or minced
Parmesan cheese, grated
Tasty cheese, grated
3 eggs, whisked, room temperature
Fresh parsley, roughly chopped
FOR CRISPY BACON:
1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
4 bacon rashers, cut into strips
METHOD:
In a saucepan, place the pasta, chicken stock, milk and garlic clove on to boil. Once boiling, allow to simmer for 20 minutes, place the lid on and stir occasionally.
While the pasta is cooking, place the butter and bacon strips in a frypan. Fry until golden and crispy, about 5 minutes. Drain the bacon pieces on paper towel.
Optional – Drain the bacon oil into the pasta and stir through. This is for added flavour.
After 20 minutes, check the pasta to make sure it’s cooked. Stir through the cheeses and remove from heat. Stir through the whisked eggs.
Serve immediately, topping with bacon pieces and fresh parsley.
Miss Food Fairy 
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