Healthier Carbonara

By no means I'm a health nut or a calorie counter. But I certainly don’t enjoy feeling comatose after finishing a pasta bowl that is smothered in cream, butter and faux parmesan cheese. Inspired by what I see and read on this site/community, I wanted to see if lighter/healthier version of the Pasta Carbonara was feasible. Directions are pretty standard but the key are the ingredients. Maybe next time I would add a little milk of just a dash of cream to make it a bit more creamy but the results were delicious.

Below is what I came up with to serve 4 people.

Ingredients

350g fettuccini

200g prosciutto or bacon

2 whole eggs and 1 yolk

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

80g grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

70g frozen peas (about 1/2 cup)

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Comments

matthewmicahhall

Looks good. It's my understanding that traditional carbonara does not include cream/milk, and so your recipe is actually more authentic. Try adding some water used to cook the pasta to your sauce. The starch in the water can provide some of that creamy texture that you want.

willybez

I think maybe I had Alfredo sauce in mind rather than Carbonara. LOL

Will try adding some "pasta water" next time. I agree that it needed a tad more liquid to keep it silky/creamy. Thanks for the input @Matthew

wolfiegirl

Yep....no dairy in real carbonara. The richness comes from the egg yolks.

wolfiegirl

Just dip a coffee cup into the pasta water to reserve some of the liquid before you drain off your noodles. It really does make a difference in the sauce.