Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hr, 45 minutes
Spaghetti Carbonara is a simply perfect dish. A silky, rich egg sauce coats the tender al dente noodles which are dotted with crispy bites of pancetta and topped with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Cooking the egg yolks low and slow thickens them into an unctuous sauce and has the added benefit of pasteurizing the egg. Tossed with a little of the starchy pasta water, the sauce perfectly coats each strand of spaghetti. A little of the egg yolk goes towards making a quick Caesar dressing. Instead of anchovies, we use Worcestershire sauce, which is more commonly available, but if you like the briny punch anchovies provide feel free to swap one in.
Ingredients
- 6 oz spaghetti
- 4 eggs
- 8 oz broccoli florets
- 2 oz pancetta, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lemon
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- ¼ cup + 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
My Cook Settings
Protein: 150˚F, 30 minutes
Vegetable: 8 minutes
Starch: 13 minutes
Instructions
Prepare the eggs:
Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Discard the whites or save them for another use. Season the yolks with salt (about ½ tsp) and whisk to combine. Add the yolks to a small zip-lock bag. Fill a tall glass, or large pitcher with water. Seal the zip-lock bag except for a small space at one corner. Press as much air out as you can without losing any yolk, then submerge the bag in the water up to the seal. The water pressure will help remove any other air pockets from the yolks. Close the bag and place in a Suvie pan with the seal over the edge (you can use a binder clip or two magnets to keep the bag in the place).
Fill the pan with water and place in the upper right zone of your Suvie. Add the broccoli to a Suvie pan and place in the upper left zone. Break the spaghetti in half so that it will fit in the starch strainer, place in the starch pan, season with salt and place in the lower right zone. Enter the My Cook settings and cook.
After the cook, remove the broccoli and toss with the minced garlic, 1 tbsp olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Remove the spaghetti and egg yolk, add 1 tsp egg yolk to a small bowl. In a large bowl add the drained spaghetti and ¼ cup of the pasta water remaining in the bottom of the starch pan along with the remaining egg yolk sauce. Wipe out the pan that had the egg yolks and add the pancetta.
Place the broccoli in the upper left zone, and the pancetta in the upper right zone, then broil for 10 minutes.
Stir the egg yolks into the spaghetti; the pasta water will thin out the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with grated parmesan cheese.
Prepare the Caesar dressing. In the small bowl with 1 tsp egg yolk, add the juice of ½ a lemon, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, ¼ cup olive oil, and 2 tbsp parmesan cheese. Whisk to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper.
After broiling, toss the broccoli with the Caesar dressing.
Add the crispy pancetta to the spaghetti. Divide between two plates, and garnish with more parmesan cheese. Buon appetito!
Wine Pairing
Crisp and zesty white wines are best suited to this dish. We recommend pairing carbonara with a good quality, and preferably Italian, bottle of Pinot Grigio.