Go to meals - Spaghetti Carbonara

Pasta is a natural go to meal in the Lo household.  K loves pasta and so do I.  Its quick, its simple and its so damn good.  When I say quick and simple, I don't mean Primo Pasta and Sauce folks. Making a good pasta is not that difficult.  Fresh ingredients, don't overcook the pasta, keep it simple and finish with love.

So without further ado - here's what we had last night before I got some time away from the family at the ACC to watch the Leafs beat the Penguins.  Spaghetti Carbonara is one of our favorites at home.  I say at home because too many restaurants in North America has butchered this dish with cream.  I take a more traditional approach to my Carbonara but do add deviate a bit from tradition by adding onions but I love the sweetness it brings.

The mise en place

Ingredients to serve 4 - Cut recipe in half to serve 2
1 500g package of spaghetti - I personally always use Barilla No. 5 spaghetti
1/2 lb of sweet pancetta - dice this into small cubes
1 small onion - diced to same size as pancetta
1/2 cup of grated parmigiano reggiano
1/2 cup of graded pecorino romano
2 large eggs -beaten

Note on the cheese: I like using half parmigiano and half pecorino and since these are staples in my home, its easy to do.  If you don't want to fuss and buy two kinds of cheese, you can use a full cup of either or.  If you are using only one, I would suggest pecorino romano.  I also freshly grate my cheese from a block so it comes out a little looser and thus 1/2 cup each.  If you use the pre-grated stuff from the store (still the real cheese, not the fake Kraft stuff), its much denser and you will likely need to use less (e.g. 1/4 cup of each or 1/2 cup total).

The steps:
1.  Mix cheese with egg - this should turn into a pasty thick mixture

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and generously salt this
3. Warm up a large saute pan to medium-high heat
4. Put the spaghetti into pot of water to boil - this will take 8 minutes to al dente (for the pasta I use, check instructions if you use some other kind)
5. Put a tablespoon of olive oil into saute pan and add pancetta - brown for 2 minutes
6. Add diced onions into saute pan and cook with pancetta until softened - about 5 minutes - turn the heat off (this is important -because we don't want the egg mixture to cook and scramble when we add it)

7. Spaghetti should be done now, drain spaghetti (IMPORTANT - keep pasta water as this will help us make sauce) and add this into saute pan with pancetta and onions
8. Add the egg and cheese mixture into the pan (remember there should be no direct heat, only residual heat)
 
 9. Toss and mix spaghetti while adding a scoopful of pasta water. The egg and cheese should start dissolving with the pasta water.  Keep mixing, tossing and adding more water until a silky smooth but not watery sauce forms

Pasta is now done.  Serve with a green salad for a simple and quick weekday meal.  Some keys to remember, the egg and cheese mixture is key to this recipe, you want it to melt and emulsify, not cook.  Remember to take it off direct heat and let the residual heat 'cook' the sauce.  Pasta water is a crucial part of the sauce, make sure you have left enough of it to make the sauce.  Getting the sauce to the right consistency may take some practice.  It should look creamy, silky and smooth with all the cheese, egg and pasta water emulsified into one sauce.  Hope you enjoy!

The finished product