This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. Here is a recipe for Easy and Decadent Lobster Risotto!
Ah risotto.... This creamy and delicious rice dish from Italy is truly comforting and always welcome. To make it requires a bit of patience and a small investment of time, but the results are definitely worth waiting for.
...This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about easy, quick, and delicious Penne Carbonara!
Are you craving an incredibly delicious pasta dish, that is super easy to make? Look no further than Penne Carbonara!
Carbonara is a dish that originates from the Eternal City of Rome.
A traditional Italian carbonara contains the pasta (usually spaghetti), hard cheese, black pepper, cured pork, and eggs. The hard cheese is typically Pecorino Romano, or Parmigiano Reggiano. Guanciale or pancetta are normally used for the pork ingredient.
Read this Wikipedia article about Carbonara for some additional history and information on this exquisite dish.
There are so many reasons to make and love this pasta dish! But in a nutshell:
This easy recipe is inspired by the authentic Roman dish, but I have made a few tweaks and the results are mighty fine.
So, are you ready to give this a go? I do hope so!
You'll be shocked at how few ingredients are required for this delicious recipe!
You will need:
I use the bacon fat to sauté the garlic in this recipe. However, you could sub olive oil if you prefer.
It couldn't be easier to make Penne Carbonara.
Cook your diced bacon in a large skillet on medium high heat. Fry the bacon a bit until slightly crispy. You want a little bit of crispiness but don't overdo this part. This may take between 3-5 minutes. Stir often.
Once the bacon is slightly crispy, remove all but about 2-3 tablespoons of the bacon fat. (If you are using olive oil instead of the bacon fat, please remove all of the bacon fat at this time or use another skillet).
Lower the heat to medium low heat, then add the garlic. Once done, add garlic and sauté for around 30 seconds until fragrant, being careful not to let the garlic burn. Turn off the heat, then set the skillet aside for now.
And the carbonara sauce? The sauce consists of eggs and parmesan cheese. Place these in a small bowl and whisk well until both ingredients are well incorporated. Set aside.
Meanwhile, cook your penne in a large pot of boiling water according to package directions to al dente. Just prior to draining, reserve a cup of the pasta water. Drain penne.
I usually reserve about a cup of pasta water (collected right at the end of cooking the pasta) when I make sauces. The reserved starchy pasta water is not always needed, however, when needed it can make the difference between pasta that is sticky and a pasta that has a nice and silky smooth sauce!
Add the drained pasta to the skillet which has the garlic and bacon. Allow this to cool about a minute, and then add the whisked egg and parmesan cheese to the skillet.
Stir well to incorporate, and add a little reserved pasta water (only if needed) to loosen up the pasta. You are aiming for a smooth and silky sauce, with no scrambled eggs in sight.
Add ¼ ts salt and ½ ts black pepper. Stir to combine, taste, and add additional seasoning if so desired.
Taking the hot skillet and contents off the heat and allowing it to cool for a bit before adding the parmesan and egg mixture is critical! This is the absolute most important thing to remember when making this Penne Carbonara!
Why? Because if the skillet and contents are too hot, you will end up with scrambled eggs or curdled eggs, instead of a nice silky smooth sauce.
Garnish with additional parmesan cheese, black pepper, and Italian parsley if so desired.
Add a lovely green salad to accompany this most amazing of pasta dishes, to make it a complete meal.
Buon appetito!
A traditional Italian carbonara contains the pasta (usually spaghetti), hard cheese, black pepper, cured pork, and eggs. The hard cheese is typically Pecorino Romano, or Parmigiano Reggiano. Guanciale or pancetta are normally used for the pork ingredient.
Some carbonara recipes use whole eggs, and some just use the yolks. This recipe calls for using the whole eggs.
The top tip of cooking a carbonara is to not let the eggs scramble or curdle. This can be achieved by taking the hot skillet and contents off the heat and allowing it to cool for a bit before adding the egg and parmesan mixture.
Here are some other recipes you may enjoy:
If you'd like to come along on this food journey with me, please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It's an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here.
Cheers!
Grace
This page may contain affiliate links. So, I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about Roseanna's AMAZING Rigatoni With Sausage!
It was the Lamb Fries which brought us to Roseanna's Italian Food Restaurant in Krebs, Oklahoma. Do you know what Lamb Fries are? We thought we knew what they were. My husband loves lamb, and he loves fries, so undoubtedly he would love Lamb fries!
Well, turns out they were good, but they weren't what we thought. Lamb fries are lamb testicles. They are often served breaded and fried, which is how we enjoyed them at Roseanna's. 🙂
...This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post raves about an awesomely delicious 10 Minute Tomato Sauce!
How about trying out a Simple 10 Minute Tomato Sauce? YES PLEASE!
10 minutes (and a few good quality ingredients!) is all you need to create this delectable Tomato Sauce! Here I feature the sauce as mixed with pasta, but it is so useful in the kitchen! Here are some ideas to put this Simple 10 Minute Tomato Sauce to use:
So there are just a few ideas, but let's start with pasta and enjoy a delicious and easy Pasta With Simple 10 Minute Tomato Sauce, as you see above!!
...This page may contain affiliate links. So I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about a Quick and Easy Spaghetti Aglio Olio e Peperoncino!
Spaghetti Aglio Olio e Peperoncino simply means Spaghetti with garlic (aglio), oil (olio), and chili peppers (peperoncino). This is a classic dish from Italy, and super delicious and easy to make!
...This page may contain affiliate links. So I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about the incredible pasta dish called Cacio e Pepe!
Cacio e Pepe = Heaven on a plate. WOW.
...This page may contain affiliate links. So I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about Spicy Pasta Puttanesca!
I loooove pasta. Hopefully you love pasta too. 🙂 I'm not averse to using ready made pasta sauces. In fact, I use them quite often. However, when you have an easy recipe at your disposal to help you create a dish worthy of a fine Italian restaurant, then there's no reason not to make your own sauce! I'm stepping out boldly to say, that this is one of those recipes. 🙂
...This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about a Pantry Mushroom Risotto!
I had heard about The Pantry Challenge a few months ago from a friend on Instagram. The Pantry Challenge is a time where you focus on using up what you have before buying any more food. The benefits are you will save time by not having to go out shopping, save money by not overbuying food, and be a better steward of the resources that you have! Every one of those benefits are definitely worth it!
...This page may contain affiliate links. Therefore I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about an easy recipe for Linguine With Pink Shrimp Sauce!
Linguine with shrimp is seriously one of the most delicious seafood pasta dishes. Fortunately I found the BEST shrimp pasta recipe: Linguine With Pink Shrimp Sauce. Honestly I don't have the words to adequately describe how delicious this dish is.
I initially found this recipe in a newspaper clipping a few years ago and have held onto it. It has become one of my favorite shrimp recipes.
For me, this dinner is a HUGE treat. It's luxurious, it's scrumptious, it's incredible. The sauce has a lovely pink hue, so this dish is also very beautiful.
The recipe comes from chef Giuliano Hazan's "Giuliano Hazan's Thirty Minute Pasta: 100 Quick and Easy Recipes" cookbook, which tells you that you can create this pretty quickly. It is everything you could want in a shrimp pasta dish! Every mouthful is full of shrimpy, garlicky, and creamy delight!
Italian pink sauce is made by combining cream and tomato (in the form of tomato puree or tomato paste). The combination results in a creamy sauce with a delightful shade of pink.
This sauce is super easy to make and complements pasta perfectly.
This AMAZING pasta dish is created with only a handful of fresh ingredients.
Here's what you will need to make this seafood pasta recipe:
You may already have most of these ingredients available and ready to go!
So once you've gathered your ingredients, let's move on to how to make this five star seafood dish!
It's so easy and quick to make this shrimp pasta!
Begin by filling a large pot for the pasta with about 6 quarts of water, place over high heat, and bring to a boil.
Next, peel and devein the shrimp. Cut one-third of the shrimp into ½-inch pieces and leave the rest whole.
Peel and lightly crush the garlic cloves. Put the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet, add the garlic, and place over medium-high heat. Sauté until the garlic cloves are lightly browned on all sides, then remove them and discard.
While the garlic is sautéing, dissolve the tomato paste in the white wine. After removing the garlic cloves, add the wine with dissolved tomato paste to the pan and cook until the liquid has reduced by about half.
Add the whole shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the shrimp have turned pink, 2 to 3 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.
When the water for the pasta is boiling, add about 2 tablespoons salt, add the linguine, and stir until all the strands are submerged. Cook in the salted boiling water until al dente.
Finely chop enough parsley to measure 2 tablespoons. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked shrimp to a food processor. Pulse until the shrimp are chopped to a medium-fine consistency, then return them to the pan.
Place the pan back over medium-high heat and add the cream.
Cook until the cream has reduced by about half, then add the raw shrimp and the parsley. Season lightly with salt and cook until the shrimp pieces turn pink, 1 to 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.
When the pasta is done, drain well, toss with the sauce, and serve at once.
This is a completely company worthy dish to serve your guests when you want to impress them. It is quick and easy, and an incredibly delicious restaurant quality meal. Your taste buds will be delighted!
One bite and I am confident that you will agree that this is the one of the best pink shrimp sauce recipes in existence. Full of juicy shrimp in every mouthful, it's sure to become a family favorite!
I truly hope you will make this delicious dish and please let me know what you think by commenting below.
Mr. Giuliano Hazan, the creator of this amazing recipe, has graciously given me permission to publish his recipe here!
Chef Hazan is the only son of Marcella Hazan, the godmother of Italian cooking. Mr. Hazan has written numerous cookbooks, and he runs cooking schools in Sarasota, Veneto and Tuscany! It would be an absolute dream come true to be able to cook with Chef Hazan!
Please view his website https://giulianohazan.com/ for information on all of his amazing cookbooks, and his incredible cooking schools!
You will also find his cookbooks on Amazon:
I am forever grateful to Mr. Hazan for the honor of publishing his wonderful recipe!
Please view these other delicious pasta recipes including:
Linguine With Pancetta and Peas
Linguine With Delicious Parsley Pesto
5 Star Italian Linguine Alle Vongole
Puglian Orecchiette With Broccoli
If you’d like to come along with me on a fun food journey, please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It’s an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here. 🙂
Buon Appetito!!
Grace
I am on a quest to experience and enjoy the 1,000 Foods to Eat in the book 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die by Mimi Sheraton. She says that the foods she lists in her book are the tastes that every food lover should experience or dream about.
Some of the foods are easy, and some of the food are hard. So.. this one is particularly easy...who hasn't tried pasta?!?!?! My second question is who doesn't love pasta?!?!? Pasta is food #24 on my quest to try each and every one of the foods listed in this awesome book.
Dictionary.com defines pasta as: "any of various flour-and-egg food preparations of Italian origin, made of thin, unleavened dough and produced in a variety of forms, usually served with a sauce and sometimes stuffed."
Pasta has two broad categories that it is divided into: fresh and dried. The shapes and varieties of pasta seem to be endless...but actually in my research I found there are approximately 350 different types of pasta, and many many more names for them! For example, what one person calls farfalle, another may call bowtie.
The history of pasta goes back centuries, and although I am not sure how true the legend of Marco Polo bringing the first pasta over from China is, I love the story.
With 350 types of pasta, and seemingly endless varieties of sauces and ingredients, there is definitely a pasta dish for everyone!
Although I do like tomato sauce based pasta dishes, my tasted tend to lean toward pasta dishes that are not tomato based.
I have a few go to pasta dish recipes that I'd love to share, and they are:
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