Review: Spaghetti with Parmesan and Bacon - CL April '03

[stephanie678]

I was pleasantly surprised at how good this recipe was! The cheese, eggs, milk and bacon made it taste truly decadent. The only changes I made were to use Romano cheese instead of Parmesan and center-cut reduced-fat bacon. Cooking the garlic in the reserved bacon drippings gave it a rich flavor. I might add more peas or some parsley next time to brighten it up a little.

DH also loved this recipe. He is a big fan of CL, but I think he was a little surprised at how rich this light recipe was. Of course, the serving size is quite small, and there is no way I'll get 8 servings out of it. Since I'm on WW, I'll eat 1 1/4 cup, but DH will definitely eat more than that. We'll definitely make this again!:)

[cherylopal]

thanks for the review- this is definitely on the menu for next week. :) i made something similar from cl years ago and still have it in rotation. it was called pasta carbonara but i subbed canadian bacon for the turkey bacon. i just didn't like the flavor that the turkey bacon lent to the dish. i think i will try this with the bacon- i do love bacon but wanted to suggest the canadian bacon as a lower fat alternative.

cheryl

[britneyelise]

I am so glad that someone reviewed this. It looked yummy, but I still wasn't sure. I am definetly going to make this now. I will probably also be using Romano cheese, as I have a huge block of that and no parmesean and I want to use it up before I buy more cheese.

All I currently have is Turkey bacon, do you think that with all of the other rich flavors in this dish that the Turkey bacon would work?

Also, what did you serve with this?

Thanks,
Shannon

[stephanie678]

Cheryl - thanks for the suggestion! I think Canadian bacon would be a good alternative.

Shannon - I often use turkey bacon when I make Linguine all'Amatriciana (pasta with bacon and onions). I have to add a little olive oil to the pan after I cook the bacon because it is so lean. I think this dish would still be good with turkey bacon as well. Oh, and on the side I served salad greens with oil and vinegar - not very exciting, I know!

[HDgirl]

I made this last night. SO and I really liked it. I added more peas and used whole wheat rotini pasta. Mine was a little spicy because of the bacon I used, Bayou Bacon. We buy our bacon from a smoke house. The fat content was kicked up for sure. I will definately be making this again.

[txbobbie]

I am planning on making this tonight...do you think I could make it with skim milk instead of 2%...I hate having to buy milk just for this. Any thoughts? We do have fat free half and half.

Robin

[shscharles]

Made this for dinner last night...halved the recipe, followed it except for substituting FF half & half (in the "needs to be used" category. I wish I'd had the spicy bacon! It was good, but needed a little kick in it somewhere...

I'll probably do it again...but add some cayenne or chipotle powder.

[txbobbie]

I made this last night using the skim milk and it turned out just fine. My fiance and I both really liked it, but I agree with shscharles that it needs some kick next time. I would repeat it with some cayenne or maybe cajun seasoning. All that bacon felt very indulgent!

[1MegMeg]

Thank you for the reviews, everyone. I plan on making this tonight. Maybe I will add some cayenne or crushed red pepper because DBF and I like our food spicy. :)

[Linda in MO]

We thought this was great! A definite repeater! I pretty much followed the recipe except I trimmed the outer layer of fat off the bacon; used 1% milk; and used a 6 oz. container of DiGiorno shredded Parmesan (can't get fresh here! :rolleyes: ). The Parmesan kind of clumped up when it melted but it was still delicious.

[Tiger]

This is a tasty, rich, and satisfing meal. Like a lot of reader makeover recipes it is a lighter version but not a light meal. My kitchen hasn't seen that much grease and fat in a long time! :eek:

[Grace]

I made this last night, and am surprised to see that no one else had problems with the sauce curdling. I thought a half cup of hot liquid added to a cup cold milk and 3 cold eggs wouldn't do much good tempering the eggs, so I even warmed the milk in the microwave (just got it really warm, not hot, but I think the cold eggs just cooled it right back down). When I added the hot water from the pasta, the mixture was barely warm at all. So when I added it to the hot pan, the eggs curdled right up. :rolleyes:

BUT - that said, the flavor of this dish was awesome. I loved it (DH didn't - which is wierd - he loves bacon and he loves peas - but he claims it was the strong taste of parmesan he didn't like). The sauce wasn't really saucy, and the eggs basically scrambled, so it looked like little chunks of scrambled egg tossed with the pasta. But looks aside, it still tasted great, and I would definitely make this again - it's a simple meal that uses ingredients I typically have on hand, so it's a nice pantry meal for when you're starving and can't wait to eat. I'll just be sure to make sure the eggs are room temperature and the milk is good and warm before I try adding it to the pan next time.

And I like the idea of adding parsley too - I will definitely try that next time as well.

[badunnin]

Grace - I totally agree with you. The flavour was good, and I will probably make it again (although it won't be in heavy rotation) and my eggs curdled as well. Well, I guess it's more scrambled. Anyways, the texture wasn't perfect.

[Shirley Panek]

I made this last night and thought it was very good - a real comfort food. I didn't have any peas, so I subbed edamame. I also had a problem with the eggs curdling, but I've had the same problem in the past when making Spaghetti Carbonara. I guess I'm not organized enough to let my eggs come to room temperature. :o

I agree with Grace that it's a quick throw-together meal. I'll definitely make it again.

[CHRIST1NE]

Surprisingly enough, my eggs didn't "scramble" in this dish .. however, the Spaghetti Carbonara is a totally different story. I think the difference was I used the lowest setting on my stove and I was moving the spaghetti around the entire time as to not get the sauce on the bottom too hot. As a result though, my sauce may not have thickend as much as it should have/could have. I used a good quality pre-shredded parm cheese (it was in a 6oz cont.. how could I pass that up) and did find that the cheese didn't melt all the way and gummed up a little (they were rather large shreds though, maybe more of a grated cheese would have melted better?). I was expecting more of an alfredo type sauce. All in all, it was a nice meal. With my salad and 1/2 a roll and a glass of wine it was a very satisfying meal.

[HealthyinMN]

This was a great recipe! I used whole wheat pasta and it seemed to enhance the flavors even more to me. The eggs didnt curdle at all for me and I think it was because my pan was not hot from cooking the bacon and garlic. I gave it a chance to cool down some and put it back over low heat and it didnt seem to have any problems. I used pretty expensive Parm cheese and it melted VERY well. DH gave it a great big thumbs up and asked for it to be put into the rotation. :)

[Luv to Cook]

We made this last nite and loved it! It tasted so decadent and rich. I started to pour my eggs in and they started curdling, so I put htem in a saucepan and slowly heated them (like when making custard for ice cream). I did end up having to strain them before adding them to the pasta though. But was a great dish! I think some red or yellow peppers would be wonderful in this. Oh, after some comments here, we spiced it up with some crushed red pepper.

Anita

[ElinorC]

I also thought the flavor was great but my eggs also curdled. I realized too late that my skillet was too hot. You'd think that after *** years of cooking that I'd remember something like that! :D

[Ralph]

Very similar to Spaghetti Carbonara, but nonetheless, delicious!

My eggs didn't curdle, but I'm added the hot water ever so gradually to the milk/egg mixture while constantly whisking. And since I sauteed the bacon in a small skillet, I just put the pasta back in the pot it cooked in, added the other ingredients, and warmed it from there. I think CHRIST1NE makes a good point in keeping the sauce stirred so it won't pool on the bottom (hottest) part of the pan.

[Angela]

Super yummy! My fiance curled up his nose when I told him what I was making, but we loved this dish!
My eggs scrambled a tad, but not too bad. The eggs were almost to room temperature, the pasta water had cooled a bit and I whisked the heck out of the mixture.

[cherylopal]

this was sooooooooooo goood! i do love bacon :) my eggs didn't curdle, tg and i think i agree that adding the hot pasta water slooooowly is the trick. i did have problems with curdley lumpy sauce with the other cl recipe for pasta carbonara- i read a recipe in cook's illustrated for pasta carb and followed their techniques with the cl ingredients and had the smoothest best sauce ever and then promptly lost that issue :(

cheryl
who has a hard time believing 28% cal from fat for this but will make it again and again :D

[tracey]

My eggs curdled too but it didn't ruin the taste. I used skim milk, fresh parm. cheese, and Canadian Veggie Bacon (1 package). Next time, I would use less of the bacon.

[jjsooner73]

I thought this was pretty bland. The only thing I did differently was use edamame in place of the peas (and they were the best part).
I'll save my bacon breakfast...I ate it all over a few meals, but it's definitely not a repeater in my house.
Oh, and my eggs curdled as well...

[ksrb]

Was so glad to see this thread as this recipe is on my list of things to make.

Also glad to learn that other people get curdled eggs when attempting sauces of this type. I made the last thing CL offered up in the way of carbonera sauce and my eggs definitely clumped, though the end flavor was fine and DH was thrilled to get something so mainstream (hmmm, maybe too many of my meals are based on tofu). Good advice, all, on how to prevent this.

Also, Very Interesting that skim milk works as well as 2%. I hate buying different milk just for a recipe---we generally only have the fat free kind in this house. Why would CL specify 2%, especially as this is a higher-fat recipe in the first place? Why not save the fat grams and use skim? Sometimes I don't understand the rationale behind recipes.

I actually thought the 2% was necessary to keep things from curdling and now have a quart of the stuff in the fridge. I will admit it makes my morning cup of tea a bit more succulent. . . .

Best,
K

[Robyncz]

Wah!!

So many good reviews, and mine was just sort of "ehhh." Edible, but not spectacular. I have to admit, I made two substitutions. I didn't have any peas on hand, so I use lightly blanched asparagus instead. And that was pretty good. I also had some cheese tortellini to use up, and I subbed that for the spaghetti. I have had tortellini carbonara before and loved it, so I don't think that was the problem. I think my problem was too much garlic (gasp--did I really just say that?? Before tonight, I wasn't sure there was such a thing as too much garlic, but my garlic was SUPER strong. One clove would have done it) and the fact that my sauce curdled. That was my fault. I stirred and stirred and stirred and the sauce didn't thicken, so I turned up the heat EVER so slightly and BAM. Curdled.

Oh well. It's just that I wanted it to be great. . .

[honeygirl1971]

I'm glad to see the positive review; the recipe caught my eye. I make Nigella Lawson's version of Spaghetti Carbonara all the time, and it's really good (I can post if anyone wants it). Nigella's recipe calls for pancetta, which I actually think works a bit better than bacon (I've done it both ways)--bacon is stronger, saltier, and smokier, and I think it gets a bit overpowering sometimes. I usually put the hot pasta in a warm glass bowl before I add the egg mixture, because the eggs mixture does scramble on me if I put it in the hot pan (my pans retain heat VERY well). The sauce comes out perfect the way I do it now, though--it thickens up and gets creamy but the eggs don't scramble.

[Mareli]

honeygirl1971-I would love the Nigella recipe if it is convenient.

I tried this CL recipe and I thought it needed a little kick, but DS already requested it to be on the menu next week, so I guess he liked it!!! (He usually says "whatever you think" when I ask if he has a request).

Thank you all for the reviews.

[honeygirl1971]

Spaghetti Carbonara
from Nigella Lawson's How to Eat
(paraphased a bit, to save typing)

1/2 lb. spaghetti
4 oz. pancetta, cut into 1/4 in. dice or 1/4 in. strips (NL says you can sub 3-4 slices bacon, but IMO the pancetta tastes a lot better)
2 tsp. olive oil
4 T. vermouth or white wine
1 egg yolk
1 whole egg
1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan
freshly milled black pepper
whole nutmeg
1 T. unsalted butter

Boil the pasta in salted water. Put the pancetta in a frying pan with the oil on med. to high and fry for about 5 mins, maybe more, until it is beginning to crisp. Throw in the vermouth and let it bubble for 3 mins or until you have about 2 tsp syrupy bacon fat. Remove from heat. For the egg mixture, beat the yolk, whole egg, and cheese. Season with pepper, grate in some nutmeg to taste, and mix with a fork. When the pasta is ready, put the pancetta back on the heat, adding the butter as you do so. Drain the pasta, then turn it into the hot pan. Turn it with a spatula and/or wooden spoon, and when it's all covered and the liquid is absorbed, take it off the heat. Pour the egg mixture over the bacony pasta* and quickly and thoroughly turn the pasta so it's all covered in the sauce. Don't turn the heat back on. In time, the hot pasta and the residual heat of the pan will set the eggs to form a thickly creamy sauce that binds and clings lightly to each strand of pasta. This make about 2 platefuls, 1-2 servings.

***My own note: My eggs scramble if I pour the egg mixture into the pan, even if the pan is off the heat. Instead, I pour it all into a warm glass bowl, and then I do get the sauce she describes here.

[Mareli]

honeygirl1971--Thanks for posting the Spaghetti Carbonara recipe. THat sounds good, I will have to try it this week.

[ksrb]

Well, because of all the helpful posts and advice (especially honeygirl's comment about her pans retaining heat very well), when I made this recipe last night it turned out perfectly. No lumps at all! My sauté pans also retain heat very well (honeygirl reminded me of this), so I did the whole last bit without any heat on at all. I was also very careful about whisking the hot liquid into the egg/milk mixture.

Without all this coaching I don't think I could have done such a smooth job.

DH loved it. I thought there was more than enough, even too much, bacon (didn't someone else say this?), but DH thinks you can never have too much of this particular thing. My house still smells of it a little (yuck).

Love,
K

[schuh]

Well, I made this intending to make 1/2 the recipe for our family of four. I made a 1/2 pound of pasta and cooked half of the required bacon.

Then I proceeded to forget that I had halved those things and made the full amount of the sauce! And I omitted the peas (none of the guys would've eaten them). So it was a very rich dish. My older son ate every bite of his. I picked at mine -- too much eggy sauce.

The good news is that I didn't have problems with my eggs curdling!

Oh, and I almost burnt my hands twice -- once while retrieving 1/2 cup of cooking liquid before draining the pasta, and the other time using my new pasta set, lifting the colander thing out of the water -- the steam almost scalded my hands!

So maybe if I actually do this recipe right it will be good...

[cvelting]

I must have gotten a little wild with the pepper or something when I made this, because it had a real kick to it! My dad called it "afterburn". He wasn't a huge fan. I don't think I'd make it again, it seemed pretty tedious for what I ended up with. Oh, and I'm single, so I'd have to eat for a week to get rid of an entire pound of pasta. Not a repeat for me.

[jjsooner73]

Originally posted by honeygirl1971
Spaghetti Carbonara
from Nigella Lawson's How to Eat
(paraphased a bit, to save typing)


***My own note: My eggs scramble if I pour the egg mixture into the pan, even if the pan is off the heat. Instead, I pour it all into a warm glass bowl, and then I do get the sauce she describes here.

Thank you so much for posting this! And for the tip, which I followed and ended up with a creamy, delicious sauce. I found out last week that my DBF loves carbonara, so I decided to learn how to make it for him. He's not here now--this was a practice run. I'll have to surprise him soon. I wanted to practice because of my results with the recipe that started this thread. Icky. This was so much better. Of course, I don't even want to know the nutritional info. Some things are better not known. :D
I think he would like more sauce. I wonder if I doubled the egg/cheese mixture, if it would still be able to be cooked when added to that amount of pasta?

[honeygirl1971]

I'm glad you liked it. :) Nigella's Carbonara and her Lemon Linguine are probably my two FAVORITE comfort food recipes. (if you want the linguine recipe you can find it here (http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=42910&highlight=Nigella+Challenge)) As for your question, I don't know why you couldn't double the egg-cheese mixture, but maybe you'd want to add more pancetta/bacon too. Let us know what you end up doing either way, though--I bet it would be even more delicious (and sinful!) with more sauce. ;)