Cookery Courses in Tuscany, Pasta Sauces at your Holiday Home: Carbonara!

You can choose a lots of typical Italian sauces for your Private Cooking Class in Tuscany, anyway the most successful one is Carbonara sauce. It’s a simple sauce, with any doubt but as my granny always sayd: simple is not easy, and this is true for all the recipes in italian cooking. Fresh ingredients, seasonal and quality extra virgin oil are the base for this cuisine;

everything is simple if fresh, but you’ve to respect each single step.

A succesful dish, a very good dish, has to respect 3 conditions, and first of all, don’t forget the “name” of your recipe:

the right balance of flavors: What’s the most important ingredient in your dish? What’s the “title” of your recipe? Well, remind that this ingredient is the protagonist; its flavor should not to be covered by other, only accompained
the right consistence:
you know that bacon in “Carbonara” or sage in “butter and sage” sauce should be crispy; try to obtain it through many tests and once you found your way, you can prepare the dish
the right cooking:
each ingredient has its own cooking time, don’t forget it while preparing a dish made from many ingredients

I always repeat these conditions during our cookery lessons and once you learn this, you can make amazing recipes; the simple ones, are the most difficult as well, because you’ve few ingredients, that’s why you must comply in all respects these rules.

Are you ready? Let’s go…I’m looking forward to know how’ll taste your

Carbonara Sauce for Pasta

…let me know!

Salva

Carbonara Sauce!

Recipe by Erika Elia (CuocheinVacanza.com)

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

150 gr. Bacon
50 gr. grated Pecorino Romano
50 gr. grated Parmesan
to taste Pepper
360 gr. Spaghetti (or Bucatini or Rigatoni) pasta
Eggs 4 (3 yolks + 1 whole egg)
to taste Extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

To prepare spaghetti carbonara put on the fire a pot with plenty of water to boil, moderately salty (1 teaspoon each liter of water), in view of the fact that the pasta has a very tasty sauce with bacon and pecorino cheese. Meanwhile cut the bacon into small cubes or strips, put it in a pan with 3 tbsp of extra virgin oil and leave it on the fire until the fat becomes transparent and slightly crispy, then remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a bowl then add the pecorino cheese, parmesan, and black pepper (to taste)
Mix well all with the aid of a whip.
Drop the pasta (ex: spaghetti) and when ready, before draining it (1 minute), turn on the fire of the pan.
Once drained, turn off the fire of the pan and pour immediately the pasta into the pan, add the previously prepared sauce, the crispy bacon and stir well.
Serve the spaghetti carbonara immediately and if necessary add more cheese and ground black pepper.
Suggestion: The beaten eggs, should never be combined with the pasta on the fire, as this would cause the cooking of egg obtaining an “omelet” effect: the eggs must in fact be joined immediately after draining the pasta, trying to avoid them come into contact with the pots too hot. The original recipe does not use cream, in fact, just the cheese mix well with the eggs to get the right creaminess thus leaving the dish lighter and less caloric, but this, if desired, is a variation to try.