Foolproof Spaghetti Carbonara

Kyle happened to be in town for my birthday and offered to make dinner. He and I browsed through Cook's Illustrated quickly and found a recipe that sounded good. This is the one we landed on- with bacon, egg, pasta, and cheese where can you go wrong? It was delicious! It was a good thing too that Kyle had made a double batch because there was none left over at the end. 

Foolproof Spaghetti Carbonara

Recipe came from Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients:

8 Slices Bacon, cut in 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 Cup Water

3 Garlic Cloves, minced

2 1/2 Ounces Pecorino Romano, grated (1 1/4 cups)

3 Large Eggs plus 1 Large Yolk

1 Teaspoon Pepper

1 Pound Spaghetti

1 Teaspoon Salt

Instructions:

1. Bring bacon and water to simmer in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat; cook until water evaporates and bacon begins to sizzle. about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook until fat renders and bacon browns, 5 to 8 minutes longer. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Strain bacon mixture through fine mesh strainer set in bowl. Set aside bacon mixture. Measure out 1 tablespoon fat and place in medium bowl. Whisk Pecorino, eggs and yolk, and pepper into fat until combined. 

*It's important to work quickly in steps 2 and 3. The heat from the cooking water and the hot spaghetti will "cook" the sauce only if used immediately. 

2. Meanwhile, bring 2 quarts water to boil in Dutch oven. Set colander in large bowl. Add spaghetti and salt to pot: cook, stirring frequently, until al dente. Drain spaghetti in colander set in bowl. reserving cooking water. Pour 1 cup cooking water into liquid measuring cup and discard remainder. Return spaghetti to now-empty bowl. 

3. Slowly whisk 1/2 cup reserved cooking water into Pecorino mixture. Gradually pour Pecorino mixture over spaghetti, tossing to coat. Add bacon mixture and toss to combine. Let spaghetti rest, tossing frequently, until suace has thickened slightly and coats spaghetti, 2 to 4 minutes, adjusting consistency with remaining reserved cooking water if needed. Serve immediately.