Carbonara
One of the first pasta dishes I learned to cook was spaghetti carbonara. I was amazed at how simple it was to make, but more importantly how much flavor it packed from using only a few ingredients well. The heroes are, of course, the egg, cheese, and pancetta, or bacon. For the pizza, I have just added some buffalo mozzarella to the base so that the egg, pancetta, and parmesan can shine. Serve with lots of black pepper.
Portions: Makes one 8 x 12-inch oval pizza. Serves 1–2
Ingredients:
- Semolina or all-purpose flour, for rolling
- 6 oz pizza dough
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
- 2 tablespoons onion confit
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, + 1 extra tablespoon, to serve
- 11/2 oz buffalo mozzarella, torn into pieces
- 8 very thin slices pancetta
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 free-range eggs
- 2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan
- Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano, to serve
Preparation:
Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C) or to its highest temperature. Once it has reached the temperature, it will then take about 15 minutes for the pizza stone to heat up. Lightly dust a clean work surface with semolina or flour, then roll out the dough into a rough 8 × 12-inch oval that is about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer the pizza base onto a piece of parchment paper; this is necessary for transferring the assembled pizza to the heated pizza stone. Prick the pizza base all over with a fork. Brush the pizza base with oil, then scatter with the shredded mozzarella, onion confit, parsley, and torn buffalo mozzarella. Lay the pancetta over the top and season with salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Crack the eggs into separate cups. Transfer the pizza onto the pizza stone, add the eggs to the pizza and top with the grated parmesan. Season the eggs with freshly ground black pepper. Cook the pizza in the oven for 5–10 minutes or until golden and crisp. Carefully remove the pizza from the oven using a pizza peel or wide spatula and transfer to a cutting board. Serve sprinkled with extra parsley, the Parmigiano Reggiano, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. If using an electric pizza oven, adding the parmesan with the egg.
