Le Bernardin’s Carbonara
Ingredients
Carbonara Sauce
- 2 oz Bacon, cut into large pieces
- 2 g Cracked black pepper
- 8 oz Creme Fraiche
- 1 ea Egg yolk
- 10 g Parmigiano Reggiano
- TT Chives
Pasta
- 4 oz Tagliolini
Garnish
- 4 ea Quail eggs yolks
- 1 oz Osetra
Instructions
Carbonara Sauce
- Start by cutting two ounces of bacon into large pieces and cook until crispy. If you want to greatly improve both the flavor and tenderness of your bacon, cook the bacon sous vide between 150-160 f for 8-12 hours which will make it very tender. Cool it down, then store in the fridge for a couple of days which will intensify the smokey flavor. This is now confited and can be stored for a couple months sealed or about a month once open, if it will even last that long. To use, scrape off all the rendered fat and gelatin and use it like regular bacon.
- To the pan, add 2 g large cracked black pepper and toast for 30 seconds. Stir in 8 oz of creme fraiche, bringing this to a simmer. Off the heat, whisk in one egg yolk, with 2 g grated Parmigiano Reggiano and season the sauce with salt. Strain into a clean pot and set aside.
- Cut 4 oz of bacon into ¼ inch dice, cooking on low heat to fully render the bacon. Separate the fat from the bacon by straining it over a bowl.
Pasta
- For the pasta, we are using tagliolini, which is an egg and semolina pasta that is thin like campanelli and from the Piedmont region. Add 4 oz dried tagliolini in a large pot of salted water at a boil, cooking until al dente, then drain.
- Add the bacon, chives and black pepper to taste in a bowl with the warmed sauce. Add 8 oz of grated parmesan cheese, mix everything well, then add in the pasta. Toss to coat in the sauce then let this sit for one minute, allowing the pasta to absorb the sauce.
Plate
- Using a meat fork, or large tweezer like me, twirl the pasta, placing the nest into four warmed bowls, being sure to create a little crater on top. Add a quail yolk to the crater, then top with Osetra caviar.
