When you have a lot of porchetta in the house, you tend to get creative. So far we’ve had sandwiches (delicious), tacos (very tasty), and carbonara (even better than traditional?!). Carbonara is one of my favourite pasta dishes, so it was inevitable that our porchetta ended up in a gorgeous glossy egg and cheese sauce.
I learned about carbonara from an old boss of mine who, after finding out that I love bacon and eggs, insisted that I had to try carbonara. “It’s like having breakfast for dinner,” she told me. Anything that remotely resembles breakfast for dinner and I’m sold.
Making carbonara is all about timing. Start boiling the pasta first and then get started on crisping up your pork. By the time the pork is crisp, you should be ready to toss the hot pasta with the “sauce.” The heat of the pasta cooks the egg and melts the cheese, causing it to coat and cling to each strand of pasta. If you’ve never had carbonara, you should: crispy bits of pork and a silky, rich sauce make this a must-have dish!
I am porky, I am egg-y, I am Porchetta Carbonara!
Porchetta Carbonara Recipe
serves 2
- 1/4 cup chopped porchetta (feel free to use pancetta or bacon)
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley, or to taste
- 4 ounces of your favorite long pasta
Start by boiling a pot of water and then cooking your pasta according to the package. Time it so that everything else is prepared by the time the pasta is cooked.
Fry the porchetta in a small sauté pan over medium heat until it starts to crisp at the edges.
Break the egg into big enough to toss the pasta in. Beat it lightly with a fork, then add the cheese, a liberal grinding of pepper, and the chopped parsley. Mix thoroughly. Add cooked drained spaghetti to the bowl, and toss rapidly, coating the strands well. Add the entire contents of the porchetta pan into the bowl, toss thoroughly again, and enjoy at once.
13 Comments
Cheoy Lee says:
April 18, 2012 at 8:16 am
Looks wonderful, and a subtle twist on the classic ham version too.
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IGredux says:
May 15, 2012 at 5:50 pm
STOP (don’t) IT!!! my brain-eyes-hunger pains will soon overpower me and cause a massive cookery anticipation meltdown!!! you have a sick mind and i am right there with you. no happy tears… yet. :-)
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Dino says:
June 17, 2012 at 11:03 am
Hi, try to add a spoon of double cream in the porchetta pan just a minute before tossing the pasta. It would be more glossy and creamy.
Nice blog!Reply
Alex says:
October 8, 2017 at 3:31 am
Yaaaaas! How fabulous does having egg yolk, heavy cream, pecorino or parmesan, black pepper, al-dente pasta and PORCHETTA sound. Thats all I need in life. Please yo’ self!!!!!!
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July 25, 2012 at 11:12 am
I think the real italian carbonara has more eggs than porchetta. The creamy texture comes from the melting of grated cheese in the beaten eggs. Once a chef told me not to add any cream!
Don Draper says:
September 5, 2012 at 3:25 pm
If I’m cooking for two, I always use one egg per person, at room temperature eggs and always temper the eggs with the water that the pasta was boiled in.
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Alex says:
October 8, 2017 at 3:32 am
Just the yolk though!
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Photo Guy says:
August 6, 2013 at 1:38 am
Beautiful photos and wonderful recipe, looks so filling!
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yessi says:
November 30, 2014 at 6:41 pm
Im a pasta lover can eat it forever if I could just like you like bacon and eggs. My roommate loves eggs as well my roommate can eat it everyday if he could. I will be trying this! I always get hungry see your blog ha!
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Lauren says:
January 23, 2015 at 10:42 am
So I made your porchetta from your beautiful cookbook (!) and was left with lots of leftovers. This looks absolutely delicious. Have you ever tried leftover porchetta and pasta with a tomato based sauce? Not sure if it would drown the porchetta?
Thanks!Reply
steph says:
January 23, 2015 at 1:15 pm
hi lauren!! so happy you made it!! it would be absolutely awesome with a tomato based sauce…also, it tastes great in tacos or quesadillas :)
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Rumbar says:
November 3, 2020 at 12:30 am
This not carbonara
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