Italian Carbonara with Bacon

Ingredients

• 1 , 16 ounce
• 12 slices thick-cut , applewood-smoked bacon
• 2 tablespoons olive oil , divided
• 1 onion , finely chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic , minced
• 0.25 cups dry vermouth
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 0.5 cups whipping cream , Optional
• 4 eggs , beaten
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper

Instructions

1. 1

   Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes.

2. 2

   Meanwhile, place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain bacon slices on paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons bacon fat in the skillet and discard the rest. Chop bacon when cool enough to handle.

3. 3

   Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and onion to reserved bacon fat in the skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour vermouth into the pan and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, about 1 minute. Mix in chopped bacon.

4. 4

   Drain spaghetti, transfer to a large serving bowl, and mix in remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add bacon-onion mixture, Parmesan cheese, cream, eggs, and pepper to the hot pasta; stir until spaghetti is well coated and sauce is creamy.