Quick Carbonara Recipe

By traciesparks

This is an adaptation of a dish originally made by my Sunday school teacher, who brought it to church dinner. Be sure to prepare plenty, because seconds are always requested. It's also good with cubed cooked turkey instead of ham.—Carole Martin, Tallahassee, Florida

Let me first say that I have never rated a recipe, and felt I had to here! It was VERY GOOD!! I did substitute olive oil in place of the vegetable oil, I used about 5 cloves of garlic, as I LOVE garlic, and I also sauted some shrimp with the butter, oil, & garlic mixture. Other than that I followed the recipe to a "T".

This was great!! Absolute favourite. Everyone wanted seconds. Now I did add baby shrimp to it and I omitted the salt as I thought the salty ness from the bacon and the ham would be enough, which it was.

Ingredients

• 1 package (12 ounces) spaghetti
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 3 cups cubed fully cooked ham
• 8 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup sliced ripe olives, drained or pimiento-stuffed olives
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Details

Servings 6
Preparation time 30mins
Cooking time 30mins

Preparation

Step 1

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat; cook garlic in butter and oil for 1 minute.

Drain spaghetti; add to skillet with the ham, bacon, parsley and salt. Cook and stir until heated through, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in olives and cheese. Yield: 6 servings.


Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 each) equals 534 calories, 27 g fat (9 g saturated fat), 65 mg cholesterol, 1,363 mg sodium, 46 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 26 g protein.

Quick Carbonara published in Quick Cooking November/December 1999, p20