Spaghetti alla Carbonara (Spaghetti with Eggs and Pancetta)

My sweet friend Helen Wheeler-Shaw is an amazing artist!!  Please be sure to take a moment to check out her beautiful art, I know you will love it as much as I do!  Helen is so much fun and has a bit f a twisted sense of humor, maybe it's the New Zealander in her, or maybe it's just that she sounds funny.  Hmmm, I'll have to think about that a bit.  And Helen probably thinks I'm a bit slow.  She's very patient with me when I know I have that lost look when she says something to me a bit too fast with that crazy accent hers and my Texas ears.

Well, last week Helen gave me some of her beautiful eggs from her very own chickens!  Last night I used them (I have been saving them for something special) and made this delicious Carbonara.  I can't believe the taste and how different it is with fresh eggs!!!!  So rich and the color was such a deep orangishy-yellow, this photo does not show the beautiful color at all :/

Romans say that this pasta was introduced to their city by the charcoal sellers who came down from Abruzzo in earlier times to hawk their wares-which is why they named it for the carbonara, the charcoal maker's wife.

This is a super simple recipe to prepare.  Beg, borrow or steal some fresh eggs!!  What a difference!!  I have now officially talked my husband into getting about 5 chickens so we can have our own fresh eggs.  Freaky how your life changes.  Me, this city girl who grew up in Houston, now wants chickens.  Just bizarre, seriously, VERY bizarre.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

(Spaghetti with Eggs and Pancetta)

1 T extra-virgin olive oil

5 oz pancetta cut into 1/4"x 1/4' x 1" strips

1 garlic clove, minced

2 eggs plus 2 egg yolks

1 lb spaghetti

1/2 C freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano

1/2 C freshly grated pecorino romano

freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add pancetta and fry until crisp and lightly browned, 5-6 minutes.

Add garlic, mix in with pancetta and turn off heat. 

Put eggs, egg yolks and 1/4 C water into a small bowl and beat together with fork.  Add cheeses and combine.  Set aside.

Cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, 9-12 minutes.  Ladle a couple of spoonfuls of pasta water into egg mixture  while stirring, to temper eggs.

Drain pasta and then return it to the pot.  Use large tongs or forks to mix in the eggs/cheese, the pancetta with the garlic and all it's rendered fat and cooking oil.  Season with fresh ground pepper.  Serve in heated pasta bowls or plates and top with additional cheese sprinkled on top.  Serves 4

Thanks Helen, you better lock your hen house!!!

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