Pasta carbonara with chicken and cream - an experimental version of a cult recipe

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Recipe author - Giada De Laurentiis - chef, journalist, presenter

Spaghetti carbonara is a delicious Italian pasta in a delicate egg sauce with plenty of grated Parmesan and crispy pieces of pancetta. It will become even more filling if you add shredded chicken to the traditional ingredients. You can use leftover rotisserie chicken in this recipe by shredding the meat with two forks. The chicken is added at the very end, along with the al dente spaghetti, and everything is heated in the pan until the flavors are combined. Do not bring the sauce to a boil so that the eggs do not curdle and it remains smooth.

How to make tasty pasta Carbonara

There are not many ingredients in the dish, and therefore the taste of the finished pasta directly depends on their quality and compliance with the requirements. Categorical requirements include the purest, preferably olive oil and Parmesan cheese, which can be replaced, but without then claiming the canonicity of the recipe.

How to make tasty pasta Carbonara

Depending on the quality and correct boiling of the spaghetti, the dish can also either be considered pasta Carbonara, or modestly classified as pasta with cheese and meat. Italian chefs choose the type of spaghetti at their own discretion; for everyone else, it is enough to use the highest quality product.

The al dente technique, also simply called “done half-cooked,” is most easily accomplished by cooking the spaghetti in plenty of slowly boiling salted water. The pasta is periodically stirred and a sample is taken. As soon as they become translucent in appearance, and when you bite into them you can’t feel the hard raw dough, discard the spaghetti immediately.

Classic recipe

The controversial issue about the presence or absence of butter in Carbonara pasta is proposed to be left to the discretion of professional chefs. If desired, it is permissible to replace it only with olive oil, but the taste of the paste will become somewhat sharper.

Classic recipe

Ingredients:

half-smoked bacon – 200 g;
Parmesan slice – 70 g;
salt and fine pepper - to taste;
water – at least 2.5 l;
top quality spaghetti – 400 g;
2 garlic cloves;
butter, sweet cream - 2 tbsp. l.;
4 selected fresh eggs;
refined olive oil – 1 tbsp. l.

How to cook:

Melt a spoonful of butter over low heat, add bacon cut into small cubes and thin slices of garlic into the frying pan. Stirring, brown over low heat until the fat is rendered, the bacon should remain soft at the same time. The garlic is then removed.
Dissolve a spoonful of salt in the specified amount of boiling water and add the same amount of olive oil. Place the whole spaghetti into the pan and cook at a moderate boil, almost until fully cooked. Place the pasta in a colander, collecting 2 cups of the broth in a separate bowl.
Add a pinch of pepper and coarse salt to three yolks and one whole egg in a bowl and beat until lightly foamy. Grate 2 tablespoons of cheese there and mix.
Turn off the heat under the frying pan with bacon, put spaghetti in it, add a spoonful of butter and pour in the egg mixture. Mix the paste thoroughly, adding 1.5 cups of hot broth, then turn on low heat under the frying pan again.
The Carbonara pasta is stirred and heated for about a minute, allowing the sauce to thicken without allowing the eggs to noticeably curdle. If necessary, add a little more broth. Place portions of the finished pasta in heaps into portioned plates, sprinkle the rest of the Parmesan cheese on top and lightly pepper it.

How to cook pasta Carbonara, if the task is to comply with the canons of Italian cooking, is described above. For maximum authenticity of the recipe, it makes sense to replace the butter only with olive oil, reducing its amount exactly by half.

Italian version of Carbonara

Pasta Carbonara is made from pasta with the most delicate creamy sauce. You can prepare the dish for a quick lunch or dinner, as the process does not take much time. The classic recipe does not use cream, but even without it the sauce has a pleasant creamy taste. Be sure to prepare this delicious dish for your family. You will need the following ingredients:

200 g spaghetti;
2 tablespoons olive oil;
70 g unsmoked bacon or pancetta;
a pair of eggs;
50 g parmesan;
salt pepper.

First you need to put a pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil. Salt it and put the spaghetti in the water, boiling until half cooked. Pour some of the water into a cup and drain the remaining water from the pasta. Place a frying pan on the stove and pour oil into it.

While the pan is heating, cut the bacon into cubes or sticks, and then fry it until crisp. While the meat is frying, start preparing the sauce. Finely grate the Parmesan and mix with two raw eggs, then add ground pepper to this mixture and mix everything as thoroughly as possible.

Add the pasta to the pan, stir and cook the pasta until fully cooked. Remove the pan from the heat and let the pasta cool slightly, but do not let it cool too much so that the eggs cook slightly from the temperature of the pasta and the cheese melts.

Pour the prepared egg and cheese sauce over the spaghetti and stir. If the mass turns out to be too thick, dilute it with a small amount of water prepared earlier. Place the pasta on the plates in which you will serve it and sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

Pasta Carbonara with bacon and cream

A creamy version of a simple but famous dish, no different in complexity. The proportions of the products have been slightly changed and cream has been added, but the choice of ingredients can be completely checked according to the first recipe.

Pasta Carbonara with bacon and cream

What to cook from:

200 g long premium spaghetti;
150 ml 20 percent cream;
50 g parmesan;
pure refined oil;
raw egg yolks – 3 pcs.;
salt and a little fine pepper;
3 small garlic cloves;
150 g bacon.

How to cook:

The oil is heated in a massive frying pan, half of the grated garlic is placed in it and browned, then removed. Add bacon cut into oblong slices and the second part of garlic into the oil, and allow the products to fry well.
Separating the eggs, pepper and add salt to the yolks, beat and combine with cream and grated Parmesan. After mixing thoroughly, set aside the sauce until the spaghetti is ready.
Boil the pasta at a low boil in a large volume of water; it is convenient to check the instructions on the package. The spaghetti is cooked until partially cooked, then it and the water are poured into a colander to drain.
The bacon from the frying pan is temporarily transferred to a plate, pasta is sent in its place, and the heat is kept to a minimum. The creamy mixture is poured into a frying pan and fried bacon is placed on top. Spaghetti is mixed with sauce and bacon, served in portions, seasoned and sprinkled with cheese to taste.

This time the spaghetti broth is not used; cream is used to obtain a thick sauce. Its quantity according to this recipe can be increased only by adding heated cream. It is important to ensure that the cheese in the sauce melts and the eggs do not curdle, so keep the heat under the frying pan on the lowest possible setting.

Carbonara pasta with chicken

White meat with white sauce? Of course, the chefs could not ignore this combination. Rumor attributes this version of preparing Carbonara to the French, however, these are just guesses; in Italy, chicken is valued no less.

Carbonara pasta with chicken

Ingredients:

400 g white chicken fillet;
75 g parmesan;
a glass of 15 percent cream;
3 fresh yolks;
refined oil;
medium fat bacon – 250 g;
400 g real spaghetti;
salt, garlic and pepper.

How to cook:

The chicken is thoroughly dried after washing, and cut into cubes no larger than a centimeter along with the bacon. Peel the garlic and finely chop it, place it in a frying pan with a spoonful of heated oil.
Stirring, fry the garlic until the first signs of blush, then add chicken and bacon to it. The meat is mixed and salted, lightly seasoned with pepper. Fry for up to a quarter of an hour, turning over as it browns.
The spaghetti is cooked until cooked, drained and quickly transferred to the frying pan with the bacon. The cheese is rubbed into a bowl with cream and yolks, the mixture is added and poured into the pasta, and all the ingredients are allowed to warm together.

Chicken contains practically no fat, but the dish cannot be considered dietary. Bacon is a fairly fatty product, cheese and spaghetti are high in calories. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to reduce the calorie content of a dish without completely violating its recipe. The only thing that can be recommended when following a diet is to reduce the size of portions.

How to cook Carbonara with chicken and cream

Cut the chicken fillet into slices.

We cut the champignons.

Cut the leek into rings.

Chop the garlic.

Let the pasta cook. Meanwhile, heat a frying pan and fry the chicken in olive oil. When it turns white, add salt and pepper.

Add champignons.

Fry everything together until golden brown.

Add leeks and garlic, stir. Fry for a minute.

Add thyme and stir.

Turn down the fire. Pour in the cream and stir.

Add the cooked pasta to the pan and stir. We put out the fire.

Ready! Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bon appetit!

Recipe with mushrooms

Italian restaurants know very well how to cook pasta carbonara with mushrooms, although the chefs of the sunny peninsula do not owe this recipe to their fellow countrymen. Often, browned champignons are added to spaghetti with traditional sauce, and the name Pasta Carbonara is clarified as Russian.

Recipe with mushrooms

What to cook from:

small champignons – 200 g;
a glass of liquid cream 15 percent calorie content;
olive oil;
parmesan – slice, weighing 100 g;
150 g bacon;
200 g high quality spaghetti;
salt;
a mixture of aromatic peppers;
2 chicken egg yolks.

How to cook:

You will need a little oil to fry low-fat bacon. After warming it up, place small cubes of smoked pork into the frying pan and set the heat to minimum.
After lightly browning the pork, add peeled mushrooms cut into the same pieces. Fry still on low heat, turning over with a spatula.
Boil spaghetti according to instructions. As a rule, it consists of taking a liter of boiling water and 10 g of salt per 100 g of pasta. At a moderate boil, the pasta is brought to an al dente state, after which it is thrown into a colander and not washed.
While the spaghetti is cooking, the base of the sauce is prepared. Add cream to the salted and whipped yolks, grate the cheese, salt the mixture and add a little pepper. After stirring, the sauce is poured into the frying pan with the champignons fried with bacon.
The sauce is heated without allowing the cream to boil and curdle. They pour it over the spaghetti, already laid out in portioned plates.

You should pay special attention to the amount of salt; you must observe moderation and not oversalt the dish.

Cooking according to the recipe:

Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add pancetta and garlic and cook until crisp, about 8 minutes. Cool slightly.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cream, cheese, yolks, basil and parsley.
Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add spaghetti and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain the water.
Add the chicken to the pan with the pancetta and stir to evenly distribute. Then add the spaghetti and cream mixture and stir over medium heat until the chicken is heated through and the spaghetti is coated in a thick sauce, about 4 minutes (the sauce should not boil or the eggs will curdle). If necessary, add salt and pepper to taste (the pancetta will likely add the salt it needs). Transfer the pasta to a large, wide serving bowl. Sprinkle with walnuts and lemon zest and serve.

Categories:

recipe / Comfort food / Main courses / Pasta / Poultry / Italian cuisine / Giada De Laurentiis

Option with ham and green peas

Carbonara pasta, according to traditional recipes, is prepared from products, some of which have recently been quite scarce. But this is not a reason to refuse a delicious dish. By replacing some of the ingredients and following the general rules, the pasta can be prepared almost tastier than the original.

Option with ham and green peas

Ingredients:

100 g of premium shaped pasta;
100 g frozen young peas;
a small salad onion and a couple of green feathers;
half a glass of medium-calorie sour cream;
salt;
hard cheese – 50 gram slice;
100 g ham;
2 tablespoons sweet cream butter.

How to cook:

Finely chop the onions and green onions and sauté in hot oil. The peas are washed with heated water in a colander and the moisture is allowed to drain completely. The ham is cut into cubes, slightly larger than peas.
Peas and ham are sent to the onion as soon as its slices begin to acquire an amber color. Set the heat to below medium, stir the contents of the frying pan for about 5 minutes, then pour in sour cream and simmer for another couple of minutes.
Boil the pasta with a small amount of salt in the water. They need to be removed from the heat a minute before they are ready and quickly rinsed with hot water. Bring the ham and vegetables to a boil and mix with the pasta.
After keeping the pasta in a hot frying pan for a little while, lay out the portions and sprinkle with cheese, grating it with fine shavings.

Bow pasta looks beautiful in this dish. The pasta looks original if you use part of the young onion when serving, sprinkling it on the finished dish.

Multicooker recipe

The design of the multicooker is designed for slow simmering of dishes, and for Carbonara pasta this is exactly what is required.

Multicooker recipe

Ingredients:

250 ml liquid cream (15%);
300 g spaghetti;
large white onion;
raw egg yolk;
150 g “Kostroma” cheese;
a pair of garlic cloves;
salt;
refined oil – 1 tbsp. l.;
pepper;
250 g smoked brisket;
550 ml water;
1/4 tsp. dry basil.

How to cook:

By specifying a duration of 13 minutes, the baking program is activated. Pour oil into the bowl and heat it for the first 3 minutes. Finely chop the onion and send it to fry.
All smoked edges are cut off from the brisket, and the remaining flesh is dissolved into centimeter cubes. Place along with grated garlic to the softened onion, stirring, and fry until the timer stops.
Without changing the program, manually extend it by 10 minutes. Pour cream into the bowl and stir until the sauce thickens noticeably. Spaghetti is broken into two and placed in a bowl, immediately mixed with the remaining ingredients.
The pasta is salted and peppered, heated but not hot water is poured in. The program is changed to “Pilaf” or “Rice”, the lid is tightly covered.
Exactly 2 minutes before the end of the cycle, pour the yolk mixed with grated cheese into the bowl. Sprinkle the pasta with basil and stir. After the appliance has stopped completely, the dish is stirred again and divided into portions.

The pasta is served in plates heated in a microwave oven or kept in hot water.

Recipe ingredients:

450 gr. spaghetti
2 tsp. olive oil
110 gr. thin slices of pancetta, cut into pieces
2 tsp. chopped garlic
2.5 tbsp. whipping cream
1 tbsp. freshly grated parmesan
8 large egg yolks
1/4 tbsp. chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 shredded grilled chicken (4 tbsp.)
0.5 tbsp. chopped walnuts, toasted
1 tbsp. l. finely grated lemon zest

Option from Yulia Vysotskaya

How to cook Carbonara pasta according to the recommendations of the Russian culinary star was described in her TV show. The recipe is no more complicated than the classics and differs little from the traditional dish even at the ingredient level.

What to cook from:

3 raw eggs;
small salad onion;
2 tbsp. l. olive oil;
120 g grated parmesan;
a sprig of young parsley;
150 g quality pasta;
150 g bacon;
salt;
freshly ground pepper.

How to cook:

Boil pasta in slightly salted water. Place it in a colander to drain and keep the broth for now.
Peel the onion and finely chop it with a knife, saute it in hot oil, and when amber edges appear on the slices, add bacon, cut into small cubes, into the frying pan.
As soon as the meat begins to noticeably brown, add the pasta to the frying pan and mix with the frying. Allow the pasta to cool while mixing the eggs with Parmesan.
The sauce is added to the pasta, stirring, and the pasta broth is added in small portions. Finished portions of Carbonara pasta are sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Whichever option for preparing Carbonara pasta is chosen, it is worth paying special attention to the quality of the eggs used.

They should be as fresh as possible, and before use, the shells should be thoroughly washed with warm water and detergent. This unnecessary precaution prevents pathogens from getting from the shell into the dish, which is especially important if eggs from home-bred chickens were used.