I am a big fan of pasta and white sauce is at the top of my list. An Italian friend taught me how to cook carbonara the Italian way. He said that it’s the meat and wine that make it really good. In my opinion, it’s the meat that makes a big difference. It doesn’t really matter if you use cheap or expensive wine.
As always, I took the liberty of making some changes. If you are a bacon lover, you can use that as well. It’s the traditional topping used for this dish. I’ve tried others, but only these two match well.
1 can turkey spam, cubed
500 g pasta
2 eggs
1 cup fresh milk
100 g grated fresh parmesan
¼ c red wine
1 clove garlic
3 tbsp salt
1 tbsp pepper
1 L water
1 cup olive oil, divide into 2 parts
2 tbsp cooking oil
1. Boil water in a pot. Add cooking oil and salt. When it boils, add pasta. Cook for about 5-10 minutes or until al dente. Drain. Rinse with cold water and set aside.
2. Beat eggs in a bowl. Fold in milk, cheese, salt and pepper. Set aside.
3. In a pan, put ¼ cup tablespoon of olive oil. Once the oil is heated, fry the turkey spam. Pour in red wine and reduce. Cook for 5 minutes or until the spam is almost crunchy. Set aside.
4. Using another pan, sauté garlic in the remaining olive oil. Use low fire. Mix in pasta. Make sure it is coated in oil. Pour in egg mixture while mixing.
5. Top with turkey spam. Serve warm.
Photo Courtesy: frabatistta