Recipe(tried): Spaghetti alla Carbonara

This is an excellent recipe, a must try. It can be prepared from beginning to end in 10 minutes, a little unusual but very tasty. We use salt pork for this recipe.

SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA
Serves 4

2 tablespoons coarse salt
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
4 ounces guanciale, pancetta, or American bacon, or salted pork cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 pound very thick spaghetti
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese
4 large eggs, separated
4 tablespoons freshly ground pepper

1. Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil; add salt. In a 12-inch saut pan, cook the onion and guanciale over medium heat until both are translucent, 8 to 10 minutes.

2. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water, and cook according to package instructions, until tender but al dente. Drain. Add the hot pasta to the saut pan, and toss over medium heat until coated. Add 1/4 cup of the cheese, and stir. Remove from the heat, and vigorously stir in the egg whites.
3. Divide the pasta among four plates, and top each serving with one yolk.

4. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup grated cheese and the black pepper. Serve immediately. Note: Raw eggs should not be used in food prepared for pregnant women, babies, young children, the elderly, or anyone whose health is compromised.

SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA WITH MARIO

Eggs and bacon are just as enticing late at night as they are served up after a good night's sleep. Spaghetti alla carbonara is the Roman version of this dish. When Mario Batali, chef and co-owner of Italian restaurants P and Babbo, in New York City, lived in Rome, he used to cook up a pot of carbonara-or spaghetti with eggs, onions, lots of pepper, Pecorino cheese, and bacon-two nights a week. Of course, those were the days before he became a father to two boys, Benno and Leo.

"Molto Mario," as he is otherwise known on his popular Food Network show, is of Italian extraction and grew up in Seattle. His family made its own pasta and sausages, cured its own olives, and produced its own wine. Mario's culinary style is all about using a few simple ingredients to make multiple dishes, every one of which sustains the integrity of its initial components.

The traditional version of spaghetti alla carbonara is devoid of cream. According to Mario, the addition of a dairy component to an Italian dish is often due to an American interpolation of the original. The origin of the name carbonara is not certain, but it may be due to the abundance of black pepper in the pasta, which assumes the likeness of little flecks of coal. Mario uses imported dried pasta, and he uses guanciale, which comes from the jowls of the pig, instead of pancetta, which comes from the side. You can also use American bacon or salted pork. The cheese in this dish is Pecorino, which is sharper and saltier than Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Mario separates the eggs and reserves the yolks in their shells until the pasta is ready to serve. A simple trick: He props the eggshells upright in a bowl of flour. Mario always adds small amounts of pasta water to the sauce during cooking. He stresses that this is perhaps the most important ingredient in almost any pasta recipe. The water controls the heat and degree of moisture in the sauce; the starch in the water gives the mixture its viscosity. Mario cooks the noodles until a minute before they're ready for eating. He drains them without rinsing, reserving some pasta water for the saut pan, and transfers the noodles to the pan for one final minute of cooking. This coats the pasta and enhances the flavor. For a final touch, add the whole egg yolk to the plated pasta, so that each person can mix it in himself, for a rich, yolky taste.