Spaghetti Alla Carbonara - the first of Saturday Recipes!

This sublime and simple dish originates from outside the walls of Rome, but in the nearby provinces. Legend has it that the meal was created for coal workers/miners - ergo, "carbonara". In the United States, we tend to bastardize it and add cream and that's just wrong. That's called Alfredo!

Remember - mix very quickly so the eggs don't scramble. Enjoy this on a Saturday night with a crisp salad and fresh, light red or, my favorite - for breakfast! After all, it's sort of bacon and eggs!

Spaghetti All Carbonara

1 pound spaghetti - I always use Barilla
1 tablespoon salt (sea salt is best)
1 large organic egg yolk (very very fresh)
1 large organic whole egg
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup fresh grated Pecorino Romano cheese plus extra for garnish
1 teaspoon fresh black pepper
1/2 cup diced pancetta (Italian bacon)
fresh cracked black pepper, for garnish
1 tablespoon chopped Italian flat leaf parsley, for garnish

Put on a pot of water to a boil for the pasta - salt liberally.

In a small to medium saute pan, brown and render the pancetta until crisp. Remove the pancetta from the pan and drain on paper towels.

In a medium to large bowl, whisk together the egg, egg yolk, two cheeses, pepper for a good 3 minutes until the mixture is silky and opaque with a creamy texture.

Add spaghetti to boiling water and cook for 8 minutes or until al dente. Drain the pasta (NEVER rinse - that starch is needed to help the sauce stick)and reserve one half ladle of the cooking water. Pour the hot pasta into the bowl of the egg mixture. Working very quickly, toss for 30 seconds to coat all of the strands with the egg mixture - the heat of the spaghetti actually cooks the eggs. The pasta must be very hot for this to work! If it's clumpy, add some of the leftover pasta water to make it silkier.

Fold in the pancetta, pour into a presentation bowl and garnish with the extra pecorino, black pepper and fresh parsley. Mangia! It's comfort and joy in a bowl. Serves 2 hungry coal miners!