PCB Pasta with Cream, Bacon, and Parmesan

Ingredients

• 1 serving dried pasta (Very large serving; the transcript describes using about half a packet, but the written recipe gives no packet size.)
• 1 red onion (Finely diced)
• 3.5 rashers bacon (Diced; source gives a range of 3–4 rashers)
• 120 ml heavy cream (Approximately; add more if needed to adjust the sauce)
• 50 ml reserved pasta water (Approximately; reserve extra as needed to adjust the sauce)
• 1 egg (Whisked)
• Parmesan cheese (Grated; plenty, to taste)
• coarse-ground black pepper (Freshly ground; use plenty)
• olive oil (For frying the onion)
• salt (Salt the pasta water and season the onion; adjust to taste)

Steps

1. 1

   Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the dried pasta and cook until almost al dente, tasting it as it cooks to check its progress. Before draining, reserve about 50 ml of the pasta cooking water, plus extra if desired for adjusting the sauce.

2. 2

   Heat olive oil in a pan over medium-low heat. Add the finely diced red onion and fry for 5–7 minutes, stirring as needed, until softened and golden. The transcript notes that the onion may be cooked nearly to caramelization.

3. 3

   Season the onion with salt and pepper.

4. 4

   Add the diced bacon to the pan with the onion. Cook for another 3–4 minutes, until the bacon is crispy and the onion-bacon mixture is golden.

5. 5

   A few minutes before the pasta reaches al dente, drain it, reserving its cooking water. Return the pasta to the pot.

6. 6

   Add the onion and bacon mixture to the pasta. Add the cream and a generous splash of reserved pasta water, then stir constantly. Keep the heat very low and adjust with additional cream or pasta water as needed until the sauce has a silky consistency and the pasta is cooked to your liking.

7. 7

   Turn off the heat. Add the whisked egg and stir very thoroughly and constantly so it blends into the sauce without scrambling.

8. 8

   Grate in plenty of Parmesan and add plenty of freshly coarse-ground black pepper. Toss the pasta to combine, then taste and adjust the seasoning.

9. 9

   Serve the pasta immediately.

Notes

The written recipe specifies one very large serving and gives approximate cream and pasta-water amounts. The transcript suggests the cook may use about half a packet of dry pasta but does not specify the packet size. Parmesan, pepper, salt, olive oil, and extra liquid are unquantified in the source.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• pasta
• quick
• dinner
• comfort food