Creamy Spaghetti Carbonara with Spring Onions
Makes: 6 servings
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 25 mins
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 pound dried spaghetti
- 1/2pound guanciale, pancetta or bacon
- 8 small spring onions or scallions, trimmed
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons EVOO
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup finely grated parmigiano-reggiano or grana padano
- 1/2 lemon, for squeezing
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. As the water heats, season it well with salt. You should be able to taste the salt in the water (like the ocean!).
- Add the spaghetti and cook, stirring often to prevent sticking, until al dente.
- Drain the pasta over a medium bowl, reserving about 1 1/2 cups of the cooking water.
- Cut the guanciale into 1/2-inch pieces. Cook in a large, deep skillet over medium heat, stirring until crisp, 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain, reserving the fat in the pan.
- Slice the onions crosswise thinly; chop the garlic. Add the EVOO, onions and garlic to the skillet; cook over low heat for 1 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool for 1 minutes.
- Whisk the eggs until well blended. Stir them into the onion mixture in the skillet.
- Dump the hot spaghetti into the skillet. Using tongs, toss the pasta with the egg mixture. Add some of the reserved pasta water to thin the sauce.
- Wait until the egg mixture has coated all of the spaghetti, then sprinkle in the cheese and guanciale and continue to toss, adding cooking water as needed.
- Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and toss well. Squeeze the lemon half over the pasta. Serve immediately.