It’s simply too darn straightforward to like Hen Carbonara with that velvety sauce, crispy bacon, and pecorino romano cheese. Critically, how may you not love this dish? And, including hen to a traditional carbonara makes this meal a bit extra substantial, so it’s not simply loading up on the pasta.
However whenever you do exactly need to load up on the pasta, go for our Authentic Pasta Carbonara.
Why Our Recipe
- Prepared in simply half-hour which is ideal for weeknight dinners.
- Deliciously juicy hen provides to the traditional pasta to make it extra filling.
- The sauce is velvety clean, made with eggs, pasta water, and pecorino romano cheese.
No want to attend for a special day to order this at your favourite Italian restaurant when you notice how straightforward it’s to make. Get pleasure from this at your kitchen desk each time the craving hits! Add some hen to a traditional carbonara and it’s an entire meal prepared in half-hour. You continue to have that wonderful, thick-cut bacon and a velvety egg and cheese sauce. If you happen to don’t have pecorino romano, you possibly can all the time cheat and use parmesan—we gained’t inform in the event you gained’t. We do it on a regular basis!
Ingredient Notes
- Thick-Lower Bacon: You may all the time substitute pancetta for bacon which is the genuine ingredient. Pancetta isn’t all the time as straightforward to come back by and may be dearer, so we default to bacon as the higher possibility for many of our viewers.
- Hen Breasts: Boneless, skinless hen breasts are nice for this recipe. Cube into bite-sized items.
- Eggs: You’ll need massive grade AA eggs for this recipe. You’ll use a mix of egg whites and complete eggs for the right silky clean sauce.
- Spaghetti: Simply use from the field. Cook dinner to al dente, tender however agency.
- Pecorino Romano Cheese: You may simply substitute with parmesan cheese. Simply make sure that it’s freshly grated as pre-grated doesn’t soften as easily and may make the sauce gritty.
- Parsley: It’s simply there so as to add a pop of colour. It’s elective, however makes it look just a little extra fancy.
Hen Choices
We desire to make use of boneless skinless hen breasts, however you can all the time use hen thighs in the event you desire darkish meat or a fattier minimize of hen. These boneless skinless hen thighs are all the time juicier than the breasts.
Time & Cash Saver
You may simply use leftover hen or shredded rotisserie hen on this recipe. You’ll want about 2 cups or you possibly can actually load it up with a cup or two extra. Rotisserie hen is commonly offered as one thing known as a “loss chief” for grocery shops the place they promote the hen at or under value to get you into the shop and hopefully purchase different issues. Which means that rotisserie hen is commonly the very best worth per pound for hen you will get. Save just a little time, save just a little cash.
Pasta Choices
Spaghetti is the normal selection for pasta in a carbonara, nevertheless, you don’t have to really feel tied to that. You would use virtually any lengthy, skinny pasta form. Different favorites are linguine, fettuccine, and bucatini.
Pasta Water
Pasta water is the key weapon when combining pasta and cheese. The starch that’s pulled from the pasta in the course of the cooking course of emulsifies (binds) the components collectively, making a clean sauce. No clumpy cheese right here. You may all the time use just a little extra pasta water to regulate the thickness of your sauce as wanted.
Wait till the final minute to get your pasta water in order that the water is filled with starch. Dip the sting of a glass 2-cup measuring cup into the pot of pasta water and fill the cup, ensuring you get a minimum of 1 1/2 cups. Then, you possibly can go forward and drain your pasta.
Storage & Reheating Directions
Refrigerate leftovers in an hermetic container for as much as 4 days.
Reheat in a saucepan on medium-low warmth. Add a little bit of water and stir often till warmed by way of.
Microwave parts on excessive in 30-second increments or till warmed by way of.