Pasta Carbonara

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a really large bowl (glass or steel), mix 3 whole eggs, 3 egg yolks, 1/2 cup Pecorino, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and lots of black pepper; set aside.

Heat a large skillet with tall sides over medium heat. Add about 1 tablespoon olive oil and 4 slices of diced bacon, and cook, stirring occasionally, until bacon is just cooked through. Leave on low heat while you boil the pasta.

Boil 1 pound pasta according to package instructions, heavily salting the water. You want the pasta tender, not al dente.

Right before your pasta is done, add about 1.5 cups of frozen peas to the bacon and cook, stirring, until just tender. Add the cooked pasta (DO NOT DRAIN THE WATER) to the bacon mixture and turn off the heat. Toss constantly for about 3 minutes. This helps cool off the pasta a bit and coats it in the yummy bacon fat.

Transfer the pasta to the egg mixture in the separate large bowl and toss constantly. Immediately add about 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water and continue to toss constantly so that the eggs don’t scramble. Your sauce will likely be a little thin, but this depends on how hot it was when you added it to the eggs. If it’s not creamy enough, set the bowl on top of the boiling water (like a double boiler) and continue to toss. Gently reheat the noodles and thicken the sauce. This shouldn’t take but a minute longer.

Taste and add more Parmesan and salt, as desired. Serve and top with even more Parmesan, and maybe a couple cranks of pepper and crushed red pepper flakes. Enjoy.