The word Carbonara is in quotations here because I don’t want any nonnas or pasta aficionados coming after me. We know it’s not authentic – an actual carbonara pasta, would have guanciale, two types of cheese (pecorino romano and parmigiano reggiano), eggs and pepper…But we wanted to make something similar, with ingredients that can be easily found in any supermarket.

This meant opting for sliced bacon (a smoked cured meat could work too) instead of guanciale. Megan loves her bucatini, so that choice was obvious….we also like to add onions, peas and mushrooms too because – well, it’s tasty. And why not? We are breaking the rules anyway.

Ingredients:

• 300g of cured pork or bacon slices (9 slices)
• 1 small white onion (sliced)
• 1 cup of green peas
• 1 pkg of sliced mushrooms (100-130g)
• 1 lb bucantini
• 2 egg
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp freshly grinded black pepper
• 1 tbsp truffle oil (optional)
• 1/2 cup parmigano-reggiano + more to add to finished product
• 1/2 cup pasta water

Tools Required:

• large pot
• large frying pan
• whisk/ spatula
• stainless steel bowl

Instructions:

1. In a frying pan, cooking on medium/low heat to render the fat out of the bacon/ cured pork. Remove cooked pork from the frying pan
2. In the same pan, sauté the mushrooms, onions for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown.
3. While the pan is still hot, add peas and bacon in the the pan and set aside.
4. Meanwhile, in a large pot filled with water, add some salt and oil. Bring water to a boil.
5. Add pasta and cook (according to package directions).
6. Strain your pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water.
7. In a stainless steel bowl, whisk together eggs, egg yolks, pepper, truffle oil, parmesan and pasta water.
8. Add strained pasta into frying pan with the pork/bacon and veggies.
9. Add sauce return and pan back to heat, cooking on low until the sauce is slightly thickened.
10. Serve and top with additional cheese (Nicholas currently refers to it as sprinkles) if desired.

Variations:

• If we were being authentic, it’s typically made with guanciale and there would be no mushrooms or peas.

FAQs, Tips, Troubleshooting:

• The water used to boil the pasta should be salty like sea water.
• Using a double boiler to cook the sauce reduces the chances of overcooking the eggs.