Quick and Easy Spaghetti Carbonara

No Comments | Written on October 27, 2011 at 5:00 pm, by Kristin Porter

I always like to try and re-create the meals I’ve enjoyed on my travels, and this Spaghetti Carbonara not only brought back some wonderful memories of Italy, it was so quick and easy to prepare that my husband and I could spend less time in the kitchen and more time reminiscing. It uses only 5 ingredients, and it’s ready in just 20 minutes.

When Under the Tuscan Sun came out in movie theaters in 2003, I watched Diane Lane fall hopelessly in love with the picturesque countryside of Tuscany — and I, too, fell hard. Ever since, I’d been meticulously planning a dream vacation to Italy, and last fall, my dream finally became a reality.

My husband and I split our long-awaited trip between wandering around the cobblestone streets and ruins of Rome, and exploring the unbelievably charming cliff-side towns of the Amalfi Coast. But in no way could a movie have prepared me for what became the highlight of almost every day on the trip — dinner! We feasted on some of the finest food southern Italy has to offer.

Every meal was a new and exciting dining experience. Would be it be tender potato gnocchi simmered in house marinara sauce? Whisper-thin, wood-fired prosciutto pizza? Creamy risotto packed with fresh seafood from the Mediterranean? Often, it might be all three!

The meals we enjoyed the most usually revolved around pasta (no surprise there!). How those chefs cooked each and every noodle to al dente perfection, each and every time, never ceased to amaze us. We learned first-hand how simple, everyday ingredients like fettucini, cream, pancetta and pepper can be turned into one of the most delicious meals you’ll ever have.

Spaghetti Carbonara combines hearty pasta with salty bacon, creamy parmesan cheese and a luscious egg sauce (that doesn’t taste eggy!). Each bite of this quick and easy dish — that tasted anything but — brought the flavors we grew so fond of in Italy right to our dinner table.

Try this recipe for authentic Spaghetti Carbonara and turn your kitchen into an Italian trattoria, if only for the night!