Quality Quarantine with Carbonara

Of course I am going to talk about the virus.  A topic that has the world’s attention is worth the ink. Like war this has become a universal, life-altering problem. Unlike war, we are all on the same side.  

I am grateful that the effect of the outbreak was not vastly different than the way we live. We were already deeply rooted in our time together, and our home. Cancer will do that to a family. We were already familiar with creative ways to do things together. Disability taught us that one. We love to cook fresh so when Genevive went to the store, or the farm, produce and dairy were still on the shelves. When we were without eggs, my kind neighbor offered her eggs to us— not once but twice!

As a family we are familiar with suffering. What I find beautiful and inspirational, is the wave of kindness that is surging. When you face suffering (which can wear many faces), things become primal. You see your family as the priority not the job (if you can, and if you can’t we as a society are in debt to you). You care about health more that stuff. You realize that living matters and lives matter. So you stay home.

 Before the real quarantine started , We were fortunate to have 2 beautiful grandchildren for the weekend .. children are eager to learn. They just need a stimulating platform.  They went for a hike and learned about the importance of nature—how peaceful and beautiful it can be. They made cookies, and much to your benefit they made homemade pasta with a carbonara sauce. If you are short on pasta, but have flour, eggs, and time go for it! The kids can help.

 My grandchildren love to cook! These sous-chefs light up at the chance to play with food. Flour, eggs right on the counter...they’re in! 

the FOCUS wow!!

I’m not the star in this post, but my mini me is, Genevive is the queen of pasta!

I am encouraging you to get a scale for all your baking. For consistency and accuracy, it’s a must:

Pasta for 5:

400 g flour

4 eggs

The recipe is super simple and easy to remember. For every egg, 100 grams of flour is used. When making egg pasta, a softer wheat flour is preferred. All-purpose flour will do, but if you can get your hands on “tipo 00” flour, it is by-far superior. This is a link if you want to purchase it from amazon https://www.amazon.com/Antico-Molino-Napoli-Antimo-Caputo/dp/B00BR0K5AW/ref=sr_1_6?crid=AWGUV7PEM3W6&keywords=tipo+00+flour&qid=1585596953&sprefix=tipo+00%2Caps%2C165&sr=8-6. It is wonderful because of how incredibly fine the grain is milled. The grains absorb the egg more evenly, and create a much smoother pasta. 

Now to showcase these vary simple ingredients, you will knead ;) to roll up your sleeves and use some elbow grease. Firstly, drop the flour on the counter and create a well. Then, crack the eggs into the well. Use a fork to whisk the eggs together, and slowly incorporate the flour. Be very careful not to spill the eggs over the sides of the well, and onto the counter. You have to be patient. And yes, these are kids, and yes there was spillage. If you do have egg leaking across your counter, simply create a wall with a scraper or your hand and continue to work. Eventually, you will get to the point when the eggs will no longer run. When this happens you can switch to two bench scrapers (if you have them) to fold more flour into the dough. You can also continue to use the fork.

When the dough no longer sticks to your hands, you can begin to knead it. You will work the crap out of this dough for 10 minutes. But like actually 10 minutes. I recommend setting a timer. Oh and while you are thinking, “why the heck am I doing this??” just remember home workouts, time sucking projects, and actually having pasta are all really trendy things right now!!! So you are pushing, you are folding, and you are pulling. You finished those 10 brutal minutes…congratulations!! You should have a smooth dough that bounces back slowly when you push your finger into it. Now wrap that baby up in plastic and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. 

Ok now the fun part. Divide the ball up. If you made the exact recipe, quartered is good. Flatten the triangles with your hand, and fold the tip in to create a rectangle. Set your pasta machine to 0 & run it through. Fold both sides into the middle, and run it through again. Repeat once more. This builds elasticity into the dough. Now bump the machine up to 1 and roll it through. Continue to do this until reaching setting 6. Now it is ready to be noodle-ized or noodle-ified or whatever. We ran our pasta through as tagliatelle but you have the power of creative freedom and can HAVE FUN WITH IT!! After we separated the pasta and tossed it in semolina flour to coat the strands and prevent stickage. Then for the pretty picture I bundled the stands and twisted them for safe keeping. 

If you do not have a pasta machine, you have another workout coming. You can roll the dough out with a rolling pin. You want to get it to be thin enough to see your hand through the dough. You may need to let it rest a couple times during the rolling process, because the gluten will fight you. When it is thin enough, dust it with semolina and fold the dough on top of its self 3 times. Use a large, shop knife to cut the pasta to your desires thickness. If it is uberlong, divide it into your desired length. 

La carbonara for 5:

6 eggs

1.5 cups of parmesan

2 tsp black pepper

3/4 cup of cut up bacon, pancetta, or guanciale

Salt 

If you haven’t had enough, and want to make the tagliatelle alla carbonara. Let’s get saucy. Carbonara is a little complicated because what is supposed to be a rich silky sauce, may turn to scrambled eggs. 

You should start by boiling the water, and salting it HEAVILY. I learned that it should taste like the sea. Some may disagree, but it’s how I like it. 

Crack 6 eggs into a bowl, and grate 1.5 cups of parmesan into the eggs. Add 2 tsp of black pepper ( we like it spicy) to the eggs. Mix well. Grab your bacon, pancetta, or guanciale (if you can find some please tell me where!!) Fry the little cubes or cut pieces in a large skillet until the fat is rendered, and the pork is crispy. Turn off the burner. Cook the pasta. When you are cooking, the time depends on the type of pasta. For this tagliatelle, I let it rise in boiling water, then pull it straight out to place throw it in the sauce. Larger, or thicker pasta takes a little longer. For good measure I check with a nibble. Use tongs to remove the pasta from the water and add them it to the skillet. Mix the pasta, rendered fat, and 1/4 cup of pasta water. Add the egg mixture. Toss very well. You should be left with a silky, rich, golden sauce that melts your heart. 

The lack of finished pictures is testimony to how good it is. Hungry kids come before photos! Enjoy 😊