CARBONARA recipes & questions

Wee_Jo

shell2001 wrote: »

I just make up a cheese sauce in the normal way (we like cheddar cheese in ours), fry bacon bits (bit of onion and mushroom is nice if you have some) cook pasta off. Drain pasta, toss bacons bits etc in pour over sauce and stir. Dead cheap, quick and filling.

Have been know to just do the cheese sauce with pasta and its one of my girls favorite teas:)

Shell2001, I ADORE cheese with pasta - sometimes I don't even bother making the sauce and just have grated cheese and pasta all mixed in together. Nom nom nom!!!

kutsu119

Forget skimping to make carbonara.

Take your pasta, mix with a good helping of butter, a good helping of parmesan or granao padana and a good grating of fresh nutmeg - perfection.

Swan_2

Julimk wrote: »

This one is 30p a portion, so very budget friendly. Do check out the rest of the site too, as lots of ideas!

http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/recipe-pastacarbonara.html

HTH

apart from whether it's actually carbonara or not (I'm saying nothing :cool:) I'd be very wary of the amount of garlic powder in that recipe :eek:

weezl74

Swan wrote: »

apart from whether it's actually carbonara or not (I'm saying nothing :cool:) I'd be very wary of the amount of garlic powder in that recipe :eek:

is a quarter teaspoon per person too much? I liked it a lot Have you made it?

Swan_2

weezl74 wrote: »

is a quarter teaspoon per person too much? I liked it a lot Have you made it?

no I haven't, tbh I don't fancy the sound of the recipe* don't get me wrong, I'm all for budget-concious cooking myself
*but you most likely wouldn't fancy some of the frugal things I cook

I'm well accustomed to using garlic powder, it's very powerful stuff & can ruin a dish with too much of it added, & that sounds like an awful lot to me for 400g of pasta

unless the garlic powder I use (from my local Halal grocer) is stronger than other kinds?


can't get enough of the fresh stuff though, no vampires are gonna get me

weezl74

Swan wrote: »

no I haven't, tbh I don't fancy the sound of the recipe* don't get me wrong, I'm all for budget-concious cooking myself
*but you most likely wouldn't fancy some of the frugal things I cook

I'm well accustomed to using garlic powder, it's very powerful stuff & can ruin a dish with too much of it added, & that sounds like an awful lot to me for 400g of pasta

unless the garlic powder I use (from my local Halal grocer) is stronger than other kinds?


can't get enough of the fresh stuff though, no vampires are gonna get me

interesting, thanks, they probably do vary in intensity, and some of the testers have subbed fresh garlic for the powder, so it's hard to know if the generally good feedback has been based on a different strength of garlic. I'll try it out on a few more people.

Swan_2

weezl74 wrote: »

interesting, thanks, they probably do vary in intensity, and some of the testers have subbed fresh garlic for the powder, so it's hard to know if the generally good feedback has been based on a different strength of garlic. I'll try it out on a few more people.

that all makes sense ... is it your own recipe?

I might just give it a try, maybe make up a single portion with the full amount (proportionately!) of powder, another time with less if it does seem too much, then try it again with fresh garlic

it may turn out that I love it, I really like when I'm proved wrong about something I've stubbornly 'made my mind up about'

my house is like a building site just now, so it may take me a while to try it out, but when I do, I'll give you feedback

weezl74

Swan wrote: »

that all makes sense ... is it your own recipe?

yep, for the purposes of that shopping list and budget (I also do an eggy version for us at home!)

I shall look out for yours, or anyone's, feedback with interest, many thanks!:D:A

kutsu119

How do you get calling that a carbonara? surely that's exaggerating slightly? I appreciate that it's cost-concious but bloody hell, it's like a lobster thermidor made with prawns - wrong!

Also, serve with 3 slices of bread?! I love carbs too but..

Stephen_Leak

PASTA CARBONARA

HISTORICAL NOTES

Carbonara means "charcoal maker", which has lead some to believe that the dish was once popular with the charcoal makers, who lived in the mountains near Rome. Actually, the origin of the dish is very recent, and there is no record of it before the Second World War. The dish probably gets its name from the ground black pepper that is added to the pasta at the last minute. During and just after the war, many Italians were reliant on bacon and eggs supplied by the Allied soldiers, and this was a quick and easy way of cooking them with other local ingredients. The dish also became popular with the Allied soldiers themselves. Upon their return home, they tried to recreate it, but somehow it lost the bacon and eggs, and gained the cooked ham, cream sauce and mushrooms. The Italians simply substituted the bacon for home produced pancetta.

1. THE ITALIAN VERSION

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

2 eggs
1 clove of garlic
15g (½ a small bunch) of fresh parsley
25g of Pecorino Romano cheese
100g of smoked pancetta
At least 600ml of water
¼ of a teaspoon of salt
200g of plain pasta
1 tablespoon of olive oil
A splash of olive oil
Ground black pepper to taste

METHOD

Break the eggs into a bowl and pick out any bits of shell. Mix up the eggs. Peel the garlic and chop it into tiny pieces. Remove the stalks from parsley and chop the leaves into tiny pieces Grate the cheese. Remove the rind from the pancetta and cut the pancetta into bite-size pieces.

Put the water and salt into a saucepan on a medium heat. Bring to the boil. Add the pasta. Stir it to stop it sticking to the bottom of the pan. Bring back to the boil and continue to cook. Stir frequently to stop it sticking.

Put the oil into a frying pan on a medium heat. Add the pancetta and fry for a few minutes. Stir frequently to stop it sticking. Add the garlic and parsley, and cook for just long enough to colour the garlic, not to burn it. Stir frequently to stop it sticking.

Begin testing the pasta about 2 minutes before the packet instructions say it should be done. The best way to judge if pasta is cooked is to bite it. This is tricky, because if you fish out a bit and stick in your mouth you may burn your mouth on the boiling water. Wait a bit and blow on it, then bite it. If it is hard it needs longer. If it is chewy (or ‘al dente’, Italian for ‘to the teeth’) it is ready. If it is soft it is overcooked.

Drain the pasta in a sieve or colander. Remove the frying pan from the heat. Put the pasta into the frying pan with the garlic, pancetta and parsley. Add a splash of olive oil, the beaten eggs and half of the grated cheese. Stir thoroughly.

Season with the pepper. Serve with the remaining half of the grated cheese.

ADDITIONS & ALTERNATIVES

Use smoked bacon instead of the pancetta.

Use dried parsley instead of the fresh parsley.

Use Parmesan or Gorgonzola cheese instead of the Pecorino Romano.

Plain pasta, such as spaghetti, is usually served with oil-based sauces.

TIPS

Use fresh eggs at room temperature. There is no need to keep eggs in the fridge. Keep them in a cardboard egg box in a cool cupboard.

If you use enough water, add the pasta when the water is boiling, stir the pasta frequently and don’t wander off (‘Gli spaghetti amano la compagnia’, or ‘spaghetti loves company’) and don’t overcook it, adding olive oil to the water to stop it sticking is totally unnecessary.

Always "take the pasta to the sauce".

IMPORTANT NOTE

Undercooked eggs are unsuitable for babies, toddlers, pregnant women, elderly people or people who are unwell.
　
2. THE ANGLO-AMERICAN VERSION

Enough for pasta for 2

INGREDIENTS

4 slices of cooked ham
100g of closed cup mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic
1 onion
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of flour
150ml carton of single cream
1 teaspoon of mixed herbs
Ground pepper to taste

METHOD

Cut the ham into 1cm (½ inch) pieces. Wipe the mushrooms clean. Cut the ends off the stalks and chop them into slices. Peel the garlic and chop it into tiny pieces. Peel the onion and chop it into tiny pieces.

Put the oil into a frying pan on a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes until the onion has gone soft. Stir frequently to stop it sticking. Add the mushrooms, stir and cook for a couple more minutes. Add the flour and stir until it has absorbed the oil and juices in the pan. Add the cream, ham and herbs. Season with the pepper. Stir and cook for about a minute until it has made a smooth sauce.

ADDITIONS & ALTERNATIVES

Use bacon or a gammon steak, cut into 1cm (½ inch) pieces and added at the same time as the onion and garlic, instead of the cooked ham.

Use button mushrooms instead of closed cup mushrooms. Don’t use open cup mushrooms, or leave your closed cup mushrooms so long that they open, as the brown undersides discolour the sauce.

Use crème fraîche instead of the cream.

Egg pasta, such as fettuccine or tagliatelle, is usually served with dairy-based sauces.

TIPS

If you use enough water, add the pasta when the water is boiling, stir the pasta frequently and don’t wander off (‘Gli spaghetti amano la compagnia’, or ‘spaghetti loves company’) and don’t overcook it, adding olive oil to the water to stop it sticking is totally unnecessary.

Always "take the pasta to the sauce". Put the pasta in the pan with the sauce and stir together until thoroughly coated.