Penne Al Telefono

via http://www.yummy.ph/recipe/penne-al-telefono

Ingredients:
6 liters water - 2-3 handfuls of salt
300 g penne
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil for sauteeing
1 1/2 c blanched and seeded tomatoes
2 cups cream
salt and pepper to season
160 g cubed mozarella cheese
10 g basil
1 Tbsp butter
freshly grated parmesan cheese

Warm olive oil and saute tomatoes. Cover slightly and cook for about 10-12 minutes. Add cream. Add pasta and lower heat to medium. Add some pasta water.Add mozarella and basil. Add 1 tbsp butter to round-off flavor..

Spaghettini Carbonara

Makes 4 full portions

Ingredients:
3-4 T olive oil (if the bacon is very fatty, use less oil)
100 g bacon or pancetta, cubed
2 cloves garlic, sliced lengthwise
300 g spaghettini, preferably De Cecco
3-4 pcs egg yolks
Parmesan or Pecorino Romano or both, freshly grated, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1-2 T cooking cream (optional)
Italian parsley, chopped, for garnish

Procedure:
1.  Boil pasta in a pot of vigorously boiling, salted water.
2. In another heavy saucepan, warm the olive oil over a medium flame making sure the oil does not smoke.
3. Add the bacon and garlic and cook until bacon is nearly crisp and the garlic nearly golden. Set aside.
4. When pasta is al dente, drain, leaving a bit of pasta water to drip, and add immediately to the bacon and garlic.
5. Toss quickly over a medium flame. Remove pan from flame.
6. Add egg yolks, cheese, parsley, pepper. Add cooking cream 1 T t a time, if using. Add some pasta water.
7. Toss gently.

My notes:

For variety, I sub bacon with Vigan longganisa. I boil 3 longganisas in water until all of the water evaporates. I crumble the longganisa and fry it in its own oil. I add 2 cloves of sliced garlic and 1 Tbsp olive oil. I drain the whole wheat spaghetti which has been boiling for 8 min and add this to the meat mixture. I toss this for 2 min. I turn off the heat and add the rest of the ingredients.

My husband liked the twist to my usual Carbonara pasta dish. Unfortunately, my son was not home for dinner and so could not give me a feedback.