Manga! Manga!

Let me start by thanking Jameil a MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLION times for what may be my favorite Christmas gift, Claire Robi.nson's 5 Ingredi.ent Fix cookbook!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! As i've told you before, too many ingredients make my eyes glaze over! I love the show, its premise, the host, everything! And what makes my book even more special is that it wasn't on my wishlist but my BFF knows me and my heart. *faux tear* Awwwwwwww!

So I started the 5 ingredient party with Claire's Carbonara. I've always wanted to try carbonara since I got Ty.Flo's* ultimate cookbook, but I just never got around to it. Last night was the perfect time!

salt for the pot
1/2 pound slab of bacon cut into 1/2 in. chunks
1 lbs of fresh or dried fettuccine
1 large egg plus 2 large egg yolks at room temperature
1 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese plus more for garnish
2 tsp freshly cracked pepper (or to taste)
2 cups spinach leaves

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt generously.

Put the bacon in a large high-sided skillet and cook over med-high heat until crisp, about 10 mins. Remove skillet from heat.

When bacon is halfway cooked, drop pasta into boiling water and cook according to package. Remove about a cup of pasta water and drain the pasta.

Meanwhile, whisk the egg, egg yolks, 1 cup of cheese, and pepper together in a small bowl.

Return the bacon skillet to medium heat and carefully pour in 1/2 cup of pasta water. When it is very hot, remove it from the heat and add the hot pasta, tossing with tongs to coat. While tossing continually, slowly drizzle the egg mixture over the pasta until it is completely coated. If the pasta is not still steaming hot, return the skillet to low heat while tossing. Add more pasta water if the pasta seems dry. Toss the pasta with the spinach leaves until evenly distributed. Serve immediately with more sprinkled cheese on top.

Note: the key to perfect carbonara is working while everything is piping hot; this assures the egg will cook and produce a silky, creamy sauce that sticks to the pasta.

Result:

It tasted AWESOME! I think EVERY dish should come with bacon as an ingredient cause you can never go wrong with bacon flavor! My one qualm was how dry the dish became as it cooled. It almost got pasty and that's never good. My recommendation is to use more pasta water than it calls for and perhaps add a splash of milk or heavy cream to the egg mixture before drizzling it into the pasta. Manga! manga!









*that's the nickname Tyler Flore.nce said I can call him. Yeah, I got it like that.