Art of True Italian Cooking

My dear friend Shannon came over the other night to share with me the art of making a truly Italian dish. I have been lucky enough to have her Carbonara in the past and was hoping she would share her knowledge with me.

It was a blast just to get to make dinner with her - but to come out a little more culinary rounded was an extra bonus.

True Italian Carbonara:

Cook/Prep Time: approx 50 mins Skill level: medium

Ingredients:

1 – 2 table spoons Olive Oil

1/3 onion

1 small zucchini

1/3- 1/2 cup diced bacon

1 ½ cups half & half

3 eggs

Parmesan cheese

1 package shell noodles

Basil, salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

- Mince onion to small pieces, cut zucchini and bacon to small cubes.

- Boil a pot of salted water and get noodles cooking.

- Heat olive oil and sauté onions until clear, add zucchini and sauté for a couple minutes and then add bacon.

- In a small sauce pan whisk 3 eggs and about a cup to a cup and ½ of half and half, add Parmesan cheese to your liking – heat on low just to warm a bit.

- Once the noodles are done, save about 3/4 cup of the cooking water, drain the rest and return to pan.

- While noodles are still hot pour your cream sauce over the noodles (put the pan on the burner that was just warming the sauce so it is on a low heat) the heat from the noodles should start to cook the eggs and your sauce will thicken and get more of a grainy, cheesy texture.

- Add in the onions, zucchini, and bacon.

- Season with basil and salt and pepper to taste.

- Top with extra Parmesan cheese if desired.

Tips/Ideas:

• This is kind of one of those recipes that you can eyeball most ingredients and make it to your liking
• You can't even tell the onion is in this (honestly and I am an onion hater) so if you are thinking of leaving that out - don't.
• Shannon brought these big shell noodles she got from World Market - they were the same kind she made this with in Italy - but any shell noodle works, but I liked that these were bigger than normal. They catch the sauce in the inside and biting into them is like a little present.

Our Personal Favorite: Tortellini Carbonara

Tortellini Carbonara 

Prep/cook time: approximately 30 min (with bacon and chopping time) 20 min if bacon is already prepared

Skill Level: Easy

 

Ingredients:

1 package (9 oz) refrigerated cheese tortellini 

8 bacon strips - cooked and crumbled 

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley 

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese 

Directions:

COOK the tortellini according to the package directions. 

COMBINE the bacon, cream, parsley and cheese in a saucepan; cook over medium heat until heated through.

DRAIN the tortellini; toss with the cream sauce

SERVE immediately.

Serves 4

Jill's Tips:

• I like to chop the bacon
• I only do about 1/4 cup or so of the fresh parsley
• You can use dried parsley as well - but just about 1 tablespoon crushed
• I use about 3/4 - 1 cup parmesan cheese - I like it thicker and cheesier
• The sauce can be pretty runny, so I have even doubled the pasta (the 20 oz package) and not doubled the sauce and it works out great
• We also find that this serves more around 2 1/2, but we usually just eat this with no side dishes