Carbonara sauce is one of the freshest inventions of Italian culinary specialists. For the first time it began to be cooked in the middle of the last century, but it had already gained popularity all over the world and is considered one of the best masterpieces of Italian cuisine. It is served with spaghetti or pasta, since its creamy-garlic taste emphasizes the taste of pasta in the best way possible. The recipe is based on cream, egg yolks, garlic and cheese, thanks to which the sauce acquires a unique taste and aroma. Extra shades give it a fried bacon and some other ingredients. To appreciate the unique taste of carbonara sauce, there is no need to go to an Italian restaurant and leave a lot of money in it. Carbonara sauce can be made in your kitchen. Moreover, any hostess will cope with this task, if only she knows a few important points.
Cooking Features
The products that make up the carbonara sauce are readily available, unless you strive to preserve the full identity and try to get Italian-made products. The cooking technology is also not too complicated, but it still has several features, without the knowledge of which it is not worthwhile to start cooking.
- They say that behind the sauce the unfortunate hostess can hide her flaws. However, this trick will not work if mistakes are made in preparing the sauce itself. If you try to use low-quality and stale products for it, it will certainly affect its taste and aroma. As a result, it will not save, but, on the contrary, will spoil the main dish.
- For making sauce, use raw eggs, more precisely their yolks. Heat treatment, which they undergo in the process of brewing the sauce, may not be enough to ensure their safety. Therefore, you can only use eggs for the sauce in which you are safe. For example, they can be purchased from a familiar farmer, especially since in this case they will also be more useful than the store.
- To prevent the sauce from turning into an omelet during cooking, it is best to brew it in a water bath, constantly monitoring its condition. As soon as it thickens and turns yellow, it must be removed from the fire.
- Bacon is the most commonly used sauce, which is fried in a frying pan. If it is fat enough, it makes no sense to use oil for this, since it will increase the energy value of an already high-calorie dish.
- Use hot sauce, adding it to equally hot pasta. In this case, the dish must be mixed. Only in this case it will turn out homogeneous, without lumps. Otherwise, pasta with carbonara sauce will look unappetizing.
- Salting carbonara sauce is not accepted. It is considered sufficient to salt the water in which pasta is cooked.
- The pasta is not washed before adding the sauce so that it does not cool. Because of this, they remain more salty.
Pasta with carbonara sauce is served hot. If you sprinkle a dish with fresh herbs, it will only benefit from it.
Classic carbonara sauce recipe
Composition:
- cream - 0, 2 l;
- egg yolks - 4 pcs .;
- Parmesan cheese - 100 g;
- bacon - 0, 4 kg;
- garlic - 2 cloves;
- Italian herbs - to taste.
Preparation Method:
- Cut the bacon into small pieces.
- Chop the garlic with a knife.
- Fry bacon in a frying pan until part of the fat is melted. If the bacon fat is not enough, you can pour a little olive oil or odorless other vegetable oil into the pan.
- Add garlic to the bacon, fry it all together for a few minutes, until the garlic starts to change color.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Sprinkle bacon with herbs, stir.
- Chop grated cheese with small holes.
- Separate yolks from proteins. Proteins will not be required, and the yolks should be whipped.
- Add the yolks to the cream, beat with a whisk or mixer until a homogeneous mixture is obtained.
- Put the cream with the yolks in the water bath. Heat on it, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes thicker and becomes yellowish.
- Remove the cream container from the water bath, add the grated cheese and mix well.
- Put the bacon fried with garlic in the mixture. Stir once more.
After that, it remains to mix the sauce with the boiled macaroni. Remember that pasta and carbonara sauce must be hot.
Carbonara Sauce with Onion and Ham
Composition:
- ham - 0, 2 kg;
- chicken egg (yolks) - 2 pcs .;
- onions - 100 g;
- garlic - 3 cloves;
- cream - 100 ml;
- hard cheese - 100 g;
- vegetable oil - 50 ml;
- fresh greens - to taste.
Preparation Method:
- Cut ham into small cubes.
- Chop garlic cloves with a knife.
- Free the onions from the husk, cut into small pieces.
- Melt butter in a pan. Put the onion with garlic in it and fry them until golden brown.
- Add ham cubes to the pan. Cook until it is browned.
- Place yolks in cream, separating them from proteins beforehand. Beat with a whisk or mixer. Make the sauce by placing it in a water bath.
- Chop fresh greens.
- Finely rub the cheese.
- Add ham, onion and garlic to hot pasta, stir.
- Add the sauce, stir it all over again.
- Sprinkle with herbs and cheese.
For this recipe, it is easier to prepare the sauce, but it will be slightly different from the original carbonara.
Carbonara Sauce with Shrimps
Composition:
- peeled shrimps - 0, 3 kg;
- fresh dill - 50 g;
- chicken egg (yolks) - 2 pcs .;
- olive oil - 50 ml;
- cream - 100 ml;
- garlic - 1 clove;
- Parmesan cheese - 150 g;
- black ground pepper - a pinch.
Preparation Method:
- Finely grate the cheese.
- Separate yolks from proteins.
- Finely chop the dill.
- Boil the shrimp for 2-3 minutes, adding dill and pepper to the water. If desired, water can be salted so that the sauce is not too bland.
- Finely chop the garlic.
- Cool the shrimps and cut them into small pieces.
- Heat the olive oil in a pan, put the shrimps with garlic in it and fry them for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Whip the cream together with the yolk and brew the sauce, putting it in a water bath.
- Add about 2/3 grated cheese to the sauce, mix.
- Mix the creamy egg mixture with the shrimp and garlic. Add it to the hot pasta and mix.
- Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and serve.
Despite the fact that a slight deviation from the classic recipe was allowed in the preparation of carbonara sauce, it fits into the traditions of Italian cuisine. This recipe will certainly appeal to those who love seafood.
Carbonara Sauce with Mushrooms
Composition:
- ham - 0, 2 kg;
- fresh mushrooms - 0, 2 kg;
- cream - 0, 2 kg;
- hard cheese - 0, 2 kg;
- fresh basil - 20 g;
- olive oil - 50 ml.
Preparation Method:
- Wash the mushrooms and cut them into small cubes.
- Grind grated cheese.
- Cut ham into small cubes.
- Heat the cream to a boil, but do not boil.
- Heat olive oil in a pan. Put the mushrooms in it and fry them until the liquid released from the pan evaporates.
- Add the ham to the mushrooms and fry the products together for 5 minutes.
- Mix the ham and mushroom mixture with hot cream and grated cheese.
- Season the sauce with freshly made pasta. Sprinkle with basil greens.
Unlike traditional carbonara, this sauce does not contain raw eggs, which means you can eat it without fear for your health. In addition, the mushrooms will give the sauce a seductive flavor. This allows him to compete with cooked according to the classic recipe.
Any hostess will be able to prepare carbonara sauce with their own hands. The most difficult to make a sauce according to the classic recipe, but there are also simplified options, when brewing is not required. In addition, there are so many recipes for sauce that everyone can choose a recipe according to his taste, including his favorite foods and seasonings.
