Carbonara Kind of Day

The word Carbonara pops up once in a while in my mind since my first taste of it in an Italian restaurant in Scottsdale last year. It seems that it is not that commonly found in most restaurants. Basically, it is a dish of pasta tossed in bacon, Parmesan cheese and egg yolk. It sounds great to me but I guess the egg yolk part probably might scare some people away. Anyways, I've tried a single portion (quarter of the recipe) based on the original recipe from Chef Emeril Lagasse's recipe.

for one person
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 tablespoon butter
1/2 clove shallot, diced
3 slices bacon
4 oz pasta of your choice
1 egg yolk
1/2 tablespoon heavy cream
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

In a pan, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. When butter melted, add shallot and bacon and cook until crispy and brown. Set aside. (Scoop away some oil if it is too much.)Boil a pot of salted water and cook pasta until al dente according to package instruction. Drain pasta in a colander and save a small amount of pasta water in a small bowl. In a dish, whisk together egg yolk and heavy cream and Parmesan cheese.Add pasta to the bacon and onion mixture. Stir over high heat until pasta is coated with the mixture. Remove from heat, add pasta to egg mixture and toss the pasta until it is well-coated. This process needs to be fast. The heat of the pasta is supposed to cook the egg yolk and melt the cheese.Season with salt and pepper. Add a bit of pasta water if it is dry. Serve immediately.It was delish!! Even though it didn't seem that much, it was pretty filling.
Happy Tuesday!