*  Exported from  MasterCook  *

                         Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Recipe By     : USENET
Serving Size  : 4    Preparation Time :0:20
Categories    : Pasta

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
     1/2  pound         pancetta (or bacon)
   2      tablespoons   olive oil
   1      tablespoon    butter
   4      cloves        garlic -- peeled and crushed
     1/4  cup           dry white wine
                        salt
   1      16-ounce pkg  vermicelli
   3                    eggs
     1/4  cup           Peccorino Romano cheese -- freshly grated
     1/2  cup           Parmesan cheese -- freshly grated
                        freshly ground black pepper -- to taste
   2      tablespoons   parsley -- finely chopped

Cut the pancetta or bacon into thin strips. Put the oil, butter and crushed
garlic into a saucepan or small saute pan, and turn on the heat to medium
high.  When the garlic becomes colored a deep gold, remove and discard it.
Put the pancetta or bacon into the pan, and sauté until it begins to be
crisp at the edges. Add the wine, and let it boil away for a minute or two;
then turn off the heat.

In a large pot, bring  4^Ö5 quarts water to a boil.  Add 2^Ö3 Tbsp salt, and
when the water returns to a boil, put in the vermicelli.  Take the bowl from
which you'll be serving the spaghetti later, and into it break the three
eggs.  Beat them lightly, then mix into them both grated cheeses, a liberal
grinding of pepper, and the parsley. When the vermicelli is tender but firm
to the bite, drain it, and put it into the serving bowl with the
egg-and-cheese mixture.  toss rapidly and thoroughly until it is well coated. 

Reheat the pancetta or bacon quickly over high heat, then pour the entire
contents of the pan over the vermicelli.  Toss again thoroughly, and serve
immediately.


                   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

NOTES : While there are innumerable minor variations in the way people make
this celebrated Roman dish, there are really only two substantially
different schools of thought.  One maintains that pancetta, a mild, cured,
unsmoked Italian bacon, is the only correct bacon to use.  The other school
insists on the smoked American variety.  Both are good, and both are popular
in Italy, but the version I prefer is the one with pancetta.  The flavor of
smoke is not usually associated with Italian food; certainly hardly ever
outside of Alto Adige, a German-speaking region in the North that was once
part of Austria.  In this dish, I find that smoked bacon adds a sharpness
that wearies the palate after the first bitefuls.  Try it both ways, and
decide for yourself.   

Nutr. Assoc. : 4352 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1281 0 0 0