Classic carbonara with garlic bread

Preheat the oven at 180°C.
Chop the garlic cloves and the parsley, mix
well in a bowl with the butter.  If you used unsalted butter you may want
to add a pinch of salt.

Slice the bread at an angle.

Spread the garlic butter and place in a hotel
pan with a drying rack in the bottom. The bread won’t soak in the pool of
butter that will form in the bottom of the pan.

Grill for 15-20 minutes.

Boil the water in a large pot, salt it well
and add a dash of olive oil.

When the water starts boiling, add the pasta,
stir it often to avoid it sticking together.

Save the pasta water in a jug for later.

Heat a pan with some olive oil. Cut the pancetta
into small cubes and cook for 10 minutes on medium heat. If the pancetta sticks
to the pan pour in a dash of white wine or water.

It is important to keep all the ingredients
(pasta and pancetta) piping hot, because the egg sauce isn’t cooked on the
stove instead, the heat from the pasta and pancetta will cook it.

In a large mixing bowl, add 3 whole eggs and
two egg yolks. Whisk well. Add some black pepper and the parmesan or pecorino.
Whisk that until it forms a paste.

From this point on things need to happen very quickly.
Everything needs to stay hot or the egg wont cook.

Drain your pasta in a colander, don’t drain completely.
Mix the pasta and the egg sauce mixture and immediately start tossing.

The egg mixture will disappear from the bottom
of the bowl and sticking to the pasta.  If you find the mix too dry, add the
pasta water and toss until you’ve achieved the desired consistency.

Add the pancetta and toss again.

Serve immediately.

Chef’s notes:

Don’t over cook the pasta. Taste it, as soon
as you can bite through it without it being dry and floury in the middle it’s
just about ready.

Kitchen tongs work well for tossing the pasta
and egg sauce.

Reprinted with permission of Real Men Can Cook.

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