SPAGHETTI CARBONARA

 As long as we're talking pasta, I just have to include a recipe for Carbonara, one of my favorites. Recently, on a trip to Japan, I signed up for a day trip to Mount Fuji and opted out of the optional Japanese lunch served on the tour. When my compatriots went off to their seaweed lunch, I found an Italian restaurant in the hotel where we stopped and had the best Carbonara I've had. Imagine: great Spaghetti Carbonara in Japan!

This recipe comes from Ruth Reichl who used to be the restaurant critic for The New York Times. She later became the editor of my dearly-beloved Gourmet Magazine, jettisoned (I don't know why) by Conde Nast in what I suppose was a cost-cutting measure. The first time I enjoyed this dish, I was at Fire Island where I already thought I'd gone to heaven even before I had this heavenly Italian specialty. Some of my guests have said one should always add white wine to the dish but I like it just the way Ruth does.

SPAGHETTI CARBONARA

serves 3



1 lb spaghetti

1/4 to 1/2 lb thickly sliced good quality bacon

2 cloves garlic, peeled but not cut

2 large eggs

black pepper

1/2 C  grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for the table

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When it is boiling, throw the spaghetti in. Most dried spaghetti takes 9 to 10 mninutes to cook and you can make the sauce in that time.

2. Cut the bacon crosswise into pieces about 1/2 inch wide. Put them in a skillet and cook for 2 minutes, until fat begins to render. Add the whole cloves of garlic and cook another 5 minutes, until the edges of the bacon just begin to get crisp. Do not over cook; if they get too crisp, they won't meld with the pasta.

3. Meanwhile, break the eggs into the bowl you will serve the pasta in and beat them with a fork. Add some grindings of pepper.

4. Remove the garlic from the bacon pan and toss away. If there seems to be too much fat for you, discard some, but remember that you're going to toss the bacon with most of its fat into the pasta to make a sauce.

5. When the pasta is cooked, drian it in a colander and immediately throw it into the beaten eggs. Mix thoroughly. The heat of the spaghetti will cook the eggs and turn them into a sauce. Add the bacon with its fat. Toss again, add cheese and serve.

This is a very rich dish. Add some crusty bread and a green salad and you have a complete meal. I would serve fruit for dessert.