PASTA CARBONARA

What's not to love about pasta, cheese, butter, cream, eggs, and BACON?

Crispy bacon is tossed with hot, buttered noodles, whipped egg and cream, and a whole cup of Parmesan cheese! You stir it until the heat of the pasta cooks the egg mixture. Top it with some fresh, chopped parsley and you are good to go.

You can use spaghetti or fettuccine, but I used perciatelli. They are heartier than spaghetti and work really well with the rich sauce.

I served it with steamed broccoli that I dressed with olive oil, zest of a Meyer lemon and Parmesan cheese.

And a Caesar salad.

                                                        PASTA CARBONARA
Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com.

Serves 8

1/2 pound bacon cooked until crispy (I put it on a baking sheet in a 400~ oven for about 15-20 minutes)
4 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup heavy cream at room temperature
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
16 ounces dry Perciatelli, spaghetti, or fettuccine pasta
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
ground black pepper to taste

Cook bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels.

In medium bowl, beat together eggs and cream just until blended. Stir in cheese and set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to pan. Toss with butter until it is melted. Add bacon and cheese mixture and toss gently until mixed. Top with parsley and pepper to taste.

Be sure to add the egg, cream, and cheese mixture when the pasta is still hot so it will cook the eggs.

I save my bacon fat in a container in the freezer. It is great to have for frying eggs or pan fried potatoes.