Walt Disney World 50 for 50: Cozy Trattoria

There is a long history of food and fun to be found at Disney's BoardWalk, particularly the food part. From the BoardWalk Bakery for breakfast dishes and treats all day long, to an evening cocktail at Abracadabar, and finishing a day off with a meal at Flying Fish, or one of the many restaurants in between. One such restaurant, Trattoria al Forno is relatively new to the BoardWalk food scene, having previously been Kouzzina by Cat Cora and Spoodles before it. That doesn't mean that it doesn't have some great takes on classic Italian dishes. For today's meal we decided to whip up there Pasta alla Carbonara.

PASTA ALLA CARBONARA

Ingredients:
1 Pound Dried Spaghetti

1/4-Inch Diced Pancetta

2/3 Cup Diced Sweet Onion

2 Cups Pasta Water

6 Egg Yolks (room temperature)

3/4 Cup Pecorino Romano Cheese (grated)

2 Cups Water

1 Egg

1 Tbsp. White Vinegar

1/2 Cup Fresh Chopped Italian Parsley (for garnish)

Coarse Salt and Ground Black Pepper (to taste)

Directions:

In a large saute pan on medium heat, fry pancetta for 3 to 4 minutes, until crisp and fat renders.

Add dive onions and cook for 2 minutes, set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook spaghetti according to package instructions.

Drain well, reserving 2 cups of pasta water for sauce.

In a large saucepan on medium heat, combine reserved pasta water, egg yolks, and cheese, stirring continuously until until cheese melts and the sauce starts to thicken.

Add cooked onions, pancetta, and pasta, tossing gently to coat.

Season with salt and pepper.

In a small saucepan on medium heat, simmer 2 cups of water and vinegar.

Slowly swirl water with a long-handled spoon to create a gentle whirlpool.

Crack egg and carefully slide into water.

Simmer for 3 minutes, until poached.

Remove from water with slotted spoon and gently pat dry.

Place pasta in large serving bowl.

Make a small well in the top and add poached egg.

Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

This may be a three pot dinner, but the most complicated part of the entire preparation will be getting the egg poached correctly. Overall this is a very simple, yet hearty, dinner to bring to your table. The Pasta alla Carbonara is salty and creamy, even though it has no cream in the dish, and feels like something your mother used to make. That said, there are a couple of notes and changes I would make.

For starters, do not skimp on the pasta. Get yourself a top notch, and thick, spaghetti. It will hold up better to the process, particularly the tossing and coating of the sauce, and not leave you with a soggy pile of messy noodles. For our part, we're not the biggest fans of pancetta and would likely go with the bacon we pick up from our local butcher regularly. Understand this isn't your grocery store bacon, it's extremely thick and has a terrific smoky flavor to it, and we think it would do better than the pancetta that is available here locally. Lastly, this is a very salty dish, so much so that we actually added very little salt to the final product. Black pepper on the other hand, only serves to enhance the pasta.

If pasta is a staple of your menu planning, but Pasta alla Carbonara hasn't been in your rotation, give this recipe a try from Trattoria al Forno. Like many of the entree recipes Disney makes available, these are wonderful starting points for you to build your own cooking repertoire around. Plus, you'll have a family-style meal fit for whomever you're feeding, without the need of a reservation!