Carbonara is my go-to potluck dish. I always have the ingredients on hand because apparently I’m fancy like that. My family and I are big pasta eaters and with also a French-Canadian background Carbonara was one of the only things I’d eat as a wee little one. Back then pronunciation was tough so I let it be known that when I screamed ‘Cawawah!’ it was for this particular pasta dish made with goodness.
Mum continued to make it over the years and finally revealed the recipe from one of her many Bon Apetit magazines she had on hand. Seriously, her collection went as far back to even before my conception-it was a recipe goldmine before the days of Google.
The recipe can be found here thanks to Epicurious.com. Because of the cost of ingredients on the island, this dish was not made as frequently as I would have liked but that just made it even more of a treat when mum made it. After moving to North America though, it was game over. You’ll see below that my recipe is very different – I’ve made it so frequently now that I just eyeball everything. You’ll also notice that I use Gran Padano cheese. I am lactose sensitive but decide to give this cheese a try and voila! Success and no tummy ache. I will warn that if you are extremely lactose intolerant find a substitute your prefer. Enjoy!
Gluten-free Cawawah (Carbonara)
Ingredients
- 2 packages Barilla gluten-free Spaghetti (12oz) each
- 1 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
- 1 cup lactose-free 35% whipping cream
- 1 egg
- 1 cup finely grated Gran Padano cheese
- 1/2 packaged of Maple Leaf Gluten-free bacon, chopped
- 1 small red onion, chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic finely grated.
- 1/4 - 1/3 cup vodka/white rhum
- 1 tsp dried crushed red pepper
- Ground black pepper to taste
- Salt to taste
Instructions
For the pasta:
BRING a large pot of water to boil. Add salt to taste and oil. Break spaghetti in half if desired and put into boiling water. Boil until al dente or desired readiness.DRAIN, reserving 1/2 cup water and rinse with cool water. Set aside, covered until ready.
For the sauce:
WHISK together cream, egg, and 3/4 Gran Padano cheese until all ingredients are well blended. Cover with saran wrap and place into fridge until ready.COOK bacon until desired brownness and crispiness. removed from pan into a paper-towel lined plate. Pour half of the bacon fat into a small glass dish and put away.
SAUTE onions and garlic on med-low heat until onions are semi-translucent and garlic is browned.
POUR in vodka/ white rum and cook until all liquids have dissolved. Stir continously to scrape those good brown bits from the pan.
ADD pasta and stir until well mixed.
POUR in cream mixture and cook on low heat until heated through and well blended with bacon mixture and pasta.
ADD crushed red pepper and salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
After-the-fact Wisdoms:
If you are going to use a cheese go with a hard cheese. Soft cheese and lactose-free cheese melt very differently and will affect the silkiness of your cream sauce.
If you noticed the original recipe called for dry vermouth. I always use whatever is on hand such as vodka or white rum. Chardonnay can also work. It has to be bitter and dry. Sweeter white wines will work but change the overall taste direction of this dish
Try to undercook your pasta a bit in the pot. Although Barilla has proven sturdy, any other pasta brand will get mushy if cooked too much. Undercooking will allow some extra cooking space for when you have mixed all ingredients together. As well as for microwaving the next day.
Pay extra special attention to your pasta when it is cooking. Gluten-free pasta takes no time to go mushy once it has reached is al dente mark.
Continously stir your pasta while it is cooking, especially when it has just been put in the boiling water. Because gluten-free pasta is so starchy it has a tendency to stick in clumps if neglected and left alone. Which also leads to the point of using a large enough pot. This particular pasta HAS to have room to move or else clumping is inevitable.
Never leave your gluten-free pasta in the pot once it has completed boiling. Actually this is a big no-no for pasta period. The hot water and pot continues the cooking process leading to mushy overcooked pasta.
Bon Appetite and happy eating!