Air Fryer Pasta Carbonara Recipe

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As a parent, a big concern of yours is to ensure your kids develop healthy eating habits. It’s important to develop positive experiences about food also so that the kids look forward to and know how to prepare quick, tasty meals for themselves, and sometimes for you too.

What is Carbonara, Really?

Carbonara is one of Rome’s four classic pastas (cacio e pepe, amatriciana, and gricia are the others). There are a slew of theories about its possible origins, including:

It was invented by Italian carbonari (charcoal workers) who prepared the dish on their shovels over a fire.
The name refers to the ground black pepper in the dish that resembles flecks of coal (carbone means charcoal in Italian).
It was a marriage of traditions between American soldiers in Italy during World War II and their bacon and egg rations with the local pasta dishes.
What distinguishes carbonara from other pasta dishes is its technique of combining eggs, hard cheese, cured pork, and black pepper into a rich, silky sauce.

This recipe calls for raw eggs that are gently cooked by the hot sauce. If you prefer, you can use pasteurized eggs instead.

Tips for Making the Best Carbonara

The beauty of this dish is in its simplicity, yet it can take a little practice to get it just right.

Prepare ahead: Since this dish comes together so quickly, and timing is crucial, be sure to have all of your ingredients and equipment ready to go from the start.
Temper the eggs: Working quickly after draining the pasta is paramount to having success. To streamline things, have the beaten eggs at the ready in a bowl, and quickly whisk in a few tablespoons of reserved hot pasta cooking water to temper them. This makes them less likely to curdle once you toss them with the cooked pasta. Then toss the pasta with the tempered eggs in the still-warm cooking pot, which will help the mixture stay warm enough to melt the cheese.
Use high-quality cheese: Set down the processed cheese shaker! For this dish, it’s key to use real, high-quality Parmesan cheese. Trust us, this recipe is worth it. If you’re going to indulge, why not do it right?
Pancetta vs. Bacon
Traditionally, carbonara is made with guanciale, a robustly flavored cured meat from central Italy which is made from pork jowl. While it’s possible to find guanciale at some specialty markets in the U.S. pancetta or bacon are much easier to come by. Pancetta and bacon are both made from pork belly, but pancetta is salt-cured and dried while bacon is smoked. They can usually be used interchangeably but, naturally, pancetta will have a salty flavor while bacon will be smoky.

This is one of the easiest and tastiest sauces that you will ever make in the Air Fryer truly amazing! If you love a great quality pasta dish this is the recipe for you!

Nutrition:

  • 447: CALORIES
  • 31g: FAT
  • 25g: CARB
  • 16g: PROTEIN

Go to the next page to get the Ingredients

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