Hi All! So today is a sad day. Today Teri, her boyfriend and I begin a juice cleanse (notice how my boyfriend is not involved…smart guy). Yep, it’s true…and I’m SO nervous about it! Am I going to starve? Am I going to turn into a huge bitch for a few days? Will I be sprinting to the bathroom all day?!?! All these things have me really worried, but I guess I also see this as a little adventure….a hungry, sad adventure, ha! Why do it then? Eh, worth a shot. Why not! :)
I know, it’s a little ironic that the same day we go on a major cleanse we post the most unhealthy, decadent, creamy thing we can think of….but it’s just sort of wishful thinking, I guess. This is seriously one of my favorite pasta dishes…EVER. It’s SO good. Plus, this pasta seriously takes 15 minutes to throw together and you need a very small handful of ingredients! Please go put on your fat pants and make this dish. I definitely plan on doing so after this cleansing is all said and done. Does that defeat the purpose?..eh well :) Enjoy!
xx Jenny
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Basic Pasta Carbonara
INGREDIENTS
- ½ pound spaghetti
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 ounces pancetta, diced
- 1 cup grated parmesan, divided
- 2 egg yolks, beaten
- 1 ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
- salt to taste
garnish
- parmesan, grated
- cracked black pepper
- basil leaves, roughly torn (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add pasta, season well with salt and stir.
- Cook pasta until al dente, 7 to 8 minutes. Drain, reserving ½ cup pasta water and gently toss with 1 teaspoon oil. Set aside.
- Pour remaining teaspoon oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and cook pancetta until crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain all but 1 ½ tablespoon grease.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and add cooked pasta and pasta water. Toss together.
- In a small mixing bowl whisk together egg yolks, ⅓ cup parmesan and black pepper. Remove pasta from heat and pour yolk mixture over pasta and toss together until fully incorporated and sauce begins to thicken with the residual heat, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add remaining parmesan, season with salt and a little more cracked black pepper and serve immediately.
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I saw the recipe yesterday morning and, since I had the day off, I made it for lunch. I used thick cut bacon, as my grocery store was out of pancetta. Also, I added peas. I don’t know why, but I think carbonara should have peas in it. It was so fantastic!!
What can I use instead of Pancetta? I eat halal food. But I love all your recipes and everything I did try out was just perfect. Can you tell me what would substitute best ?
You can use either turkey bacon for the smokey flavor, but I really like using something called ‘beef fry’ as a sub. (It’s the Midwest in me!) It’s kind of like beef bacon …flavorful and fatty. Good luck!
Made this last night after a long day of work. It was super easy to assemble, with almost no prep work. It took me about 30 minutes from start to finish, so it’s perfect for busy nights. And it was very tasty. Definitely a keeper.
Made this tonight. The only 2 things I subbed were bacon and I used just an egg yolk.
Delicious! Thank you!
I hope that juice cleanse isn’t killing you! I can only imagine how painful it was to put up this post…a good pasta carbonara is pure euphoria.
Good luck with the cleanse!!
All your pictures always look so yummy! Want. to. eat.
This looks amazing!
I’ve been eyeing the Blueprint Cleanse, but am afraid I will pass out while I’m with my kids. Which one are you doing and for how long? Good luck!
Hi Amy! We’re doing the 3 day cleanse through “Pressed Juicery”. I like it a lot and am not as hungry as I thought I’d be (juices are tasty too). Energy level is definitely a bit low, but I was expecting that. I do miss the feeling of chewing though :)
I saw the recipe yesterday morning and, since I had the day off, I made it for lunch. I used thick cut bacon, as my grocery store was out of pancetta. Also, I added peas. I don’t know why, but I think carbonara should have peas in it. It was so fantastic!!
Looks great! And as for posting something you can’t eat because of your cleanse….I get it. It really is ironic. When I’m trying to drop a few pounds I always find myself baking or cooking something I can’t have…it’s cathartic in a weird sort of way.
This is one of my favorite pasta dish to eat. Mmm!
What cleanse are you doing? Maybe you can post some of those recipes?
I am SOOOOOO making this recipe next week. Everyone’s allowed a “fat pants” recipe once a week or so right? Talk about total comfort food.
Carbonara never has cream in it, which do all Americans add cream? Try it with a couple of egg yolks instead, the Italian way.
The preparation is different, too. You have to add the hot pasta straight from the pot to the egg-cheese mixture, otherwise you won’t achieve the glossy finish, no additional heat required.
This is my version of carbonara and I love the addition of cream, it adds great body to the “sauce”. I never said anything about this dish being a classic version of carbonara
So yummmy. Totally indulgent, but utterly worth it.
I never tire of carbonara! I try not to make it all that often due to the high fat content but when I do cook it I enjoy it thoroughly. Your recipe sounds amazing!
Oh GEEZ. You guys are braveroo. Good luck!
I’ll be shoving this into my head hole in the meantime, thank ya very much.
My boyfriend’s done the 12-day Master Cleanse 4 times. I tried to do it once and quit the first day!
I’ve done two cleanses – a 3 day and a 2 day cleanse. My first cleanse was so freakin’ easy and comfortable. I’m a fat girl at heart and I had all the same worries as you.
The 2nd cleanse wasn’t as easy, which is why I cut it 1 day short. The major reason being that the weather was COLD and the last thing I wanted to do was drink a cold juice. Nevertheless, when the it’s consistently warm in these parts, I’ll be cleansing again!
Yummmmmmmmm!
My husband and I did a juice fast for 37 days, just look into which veg has enough protien and juice those :) you’ll do great!
OMG this looks decadent and delicious. I’m a sucker for a good carbonara!
Good luck with the cleanse! Pick up an extra almond milk – it really helps you get through it.
xoxo,
mon amy
That’s what everyone is saying…that the almond milk is what really gets you through it! Thanks!
A juice cleanse is way easier to get through if you also consume some of the vegetable pulp (that’s where most of the protein is!!). It’ll help your mind from feeling too spacey and it’ll also keep your digestive system producing the enzymes you need to digest food: the body starts to shut down production of these during a normal juice cleanse, which means getting back on normal food can be an uncomfortable transition. Also helps with the cleansing of the, ahem, “rear” as well, ifyouknowwhatImean. ;-)
I made this tonight – before I saw your post. A family staple. Disagree with you about the cream and basil but it does look very lovely as always :)
Best of luck with the cleanse!
And I LOVE the bowl that the pasta is in. It almost looks like the blue is sort of “over-layed” on top…where did you find it?
You always make me so hungry. This looks amazing!