Cheater Carbonara Recipes

CHEATER CARBONARA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook linguine at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes, adding peas in the last minute of cooking. Drain and keep warm in a bowl.
• Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towels, reserving 1 tablespoon of drippings in the skillet.
• Add garlic to the skillet; saute for 1 minute. Reduce heat to low and stir in milk and cream cheese until blended.
• Crumble bacon and add to the linguine along with sauce and Parmesan cheese; stir to coat.

SHORTCUT GUANCIALE

Steps:

• Rinse pork jowl and pat dry. Combine other ingredients in a bowl.
• Rub the curing mix on the jowl, then place jowl in a gallon Ziploc bag with the cure evenly spread on top and bottom. Refrigerate for 3 days.
• Rinse the jowl and dry it. Roast at 275 degrees for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

CHEATS CARBONARA (CHEESE FREE)

Steps:

• Slice the bacon into thin strips and place in a saucepan with a little oil over a low heat. Cook gently for about 5 mins until the bacon looks cooked but there is still juices in the pan.
• Take the bacon out of the saucepan, leaving the juices behind, and transfer into a small bowl.
• Add a small amount of butter (about a teaspoon) to the bacon juice that us left in the pan and allow to melt over a low heat. Next add the mushrooms.
• Cook for about 5 mins then turn the heat up and return the bacon slices to the pan. Cook, stirring continuously until the bacon starts to go crispy and the mushrooms start to go golden brown.
• Add the cream to the pan along with some black pepper and reduce the heat. leave the cream, mushrooms, bacon and black pepper to simmer gently. This will allow the sauce to thicken.
• Whilst the sauce is thickening, add the pasta to a pan of boiling water and cook as per the packet (normally 4 mins).
• Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and add it to the sauce, stir and serve. If you are having trouble getting the sauce to thicken add one tablespoon of the pasta water just before you drain it. The starch in the water will help make the sauce thicken but be careful, less is more and the sauce will thicken very quickly!
• If you decide to use cheese I would suggest adding it as a garnish at the end, that is what my friends normally do when I make this for them!