Carbonara

Quick Look_______________

I post this with some reservations. Carbonara is cheap, quick, easy, and people enjoy it; however, it's not that healthy. The main ingredients are bacon, eggs, butter, and cheese. I guess it's not that bad if you don't make it too often. Use this recipe at your own risk! With that said...many people I know love carbonara and it really is quite delicious. This recipe comes from Tim So from Gracepoint Fellowship Church, Taiwan.

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 20-30 minutes
• Difficulty: Easy
• Labor Intensity: It would be good to have an extra hand - one watching the noodles/eggs mixture and the other making the bacon mixture.
• 30 servings, adjust by 1.5x if your group tends to eat multiple servings.
• *This recipe is enough for 1 serving per person, people may want seconds!
  

Ingredients_______________

• 6lb pasta noodles (spaghetti, linguine, fettuchini) [4lbs for about $5 at smart and final, or about $1-$2/lb at safeway/lucky)
• 18 eggs (about $3)
• 2 sticks of butter
• 1 cup good quality olive oil (Berkeley Bowl Organic Olive Oil is really good $10/3cup)
• 2 pound bacon, cut into small strips (Bacon ends and pieces $1.69/lb @ Lucky at the end of the pork section)
• 4 cup (1lb) sliced parmesan ($5 at safeway/lucky) [this isn't the grated kind you put on pizza, it's bagged with the other cheeses]
• 3 bunches garlic (minced)
• 2 tbs salt
• 2 tbs pepper
• 1 cup minced Italian parsley (not that important)
• Total: under $30.00

Directions_______________

• Mix eggs, salt, and parmesan in a bowl
• Cook bacon until crispy, then reduce the heat and add the olive oil, butter, pepper, and garlic. Be careful not to actually cook the olive oil too hot or all of the flavors will get burnt off. Cook until the garlic looks tasty golden (about a minute or two)
• Cook the pasta according to directions. When draining the pasta, save 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid. Be careful not to overdrain the pasta: wash in a little bit of hot water, then return it to the cooking pot with just enough of the reserved water to keep it from clumping.
• Wait about 60 more seconds to let the noodles cool a bit. Then add the egg mixture, tossing to coat all the noodles. Then add bacon mixture and stir. If cheese clumps up too much, or if it doesn't look creamy at all, add just enough pasta water to loosen stuff up.
• Sprinkle parsley on top and serve.
  

Tom's Tips and Tricks_______________

Be careful not to cook the egg mixture. After you add the egg mix to the hot pasta, watch it carefully. If it starts clumping and looks like scrambled eggs, stop stirring and let it sit a little to cool down and then stir again.

[Possible side dish] salad and bread rolls