Shrimp Spaghetti Carbonara

Adapted from an internet recipe.

I made this last night for dinner, 20 Dec 2017, but not worthy of a photo since the eggs did scramble. The flavor was excellent, just not a nice presentation so I will certainly be making this again, one to get the technique mastered to mix in the egg and cheese, and two, to get photos.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Italian

Servings servings

Ingredients

500 grams dry spaghetti, (1 lb)
2 eggs, room temperature
2 egg yolks, room temperature
1½ cups Parmesan cheese rind, grated. plus more for garnish
coarsely ground black pepper, as needed
250 grams bacon, cut into ½ inch slices, (8 oz)
500 grams fresh shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed, (1 lb)
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped, plus more for garnish

Instructions

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil then cook the spaghetti until just tender. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, leave the spaghetti in the pot and set aside.
While the water is getting hot for the spaghetti, in a mixing bowl mix together the cheese, eggs, and yolks with a fork or whisk. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Set this aside and finish up cooking spaghetti.
Heat a large non stick skillet on medium heat and when hot, add the bacon and cook until crispy then remove to a bowl, leaving the fat in the pan. and add ¼ cup of the pasta water you reserved.
Add the shrimp to the pan and season with salt and pepper as desired. Cook until the shrimp are all pink, turn often.
Now drain the pasta and add to the pan with the shrimp, use tongs to combine the shrimp and pasta. Once mixed well, toss the parsley into the pasta.
Working quickly, now stir in the egg and cheese mixture and use tongs to quickly toss to coat the spaghetti, use two sets of tongs if needed, work fast to prevent the egg from scrambling. Add additional pasta water as needed to make a creamy sauce. Just before serving, toss the bacon in. (If the eggs scramble, the taste will still be excellent, just not very photogenic.)
Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with additional parsley, cheese, and pepper.

Notes

Large white shrimp from Tesco will cost about 150 Baht/500 grams. The cheese about 170 Baht. Bacon prices vary greatly, on average, figure about 150 Baht/250 grams. For 4 servings, this is about $3.46 per serving.