Serves 8 Serves 8
Pasta carbonara’s soul is bacon, butter, cheese, and egg, so you know it’s gotta be delicious. The recipe allows for interpretation, but the essentials are pasta, crisped bacon dice, grated cheese, and raw eggs that cook on contact with the hot pasta. This is an even more decadent version of pasta carbonara made with gnocchi, the small potato dumplings, and baked in the oven. In addition to this dish, the recipe for gnocchi is a valuable one to add to your repertoire. The key to its success is not overworking the dough, so stop kneading or shaping it as soon as you’ve completed each step. (You can also save a step by purchasing gnocchi from the dried-pasta section or refrigerator-freezer case in your market.)
11/2 pounds baking potatoes (about 2 medium potatoes)
Coarse salt
13/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 pound slab bacon, cut into 1/4-inch strips
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
1. Put the potatoes in a large, heavy-bottomed pot and cover with cold water by 2 inches. Salt the water, bring to a boil over high heat, and cook until the potatoes are done, about 20 minutes. (A sharp, thin-bladed knife will pierce easily to their center.) While the potatoes are cooking, break 1 of the eggs into a small bowl and beat it with a whisk.
2. Drain the potatoes and, when cool enough to handle, peel them. Pass them through a ricer, or transfer them to a large bowl and mash them with a masher, but don’t overwork them.
3. Lightly dust a clean, dry work surface with a little flour and turn the warm potatoes out onto it. Sprinkle the remaining flour over the potatoes and knead together just until combined. Make a well in the center of the dough and pour the beaten egg into it. Use a fork to work the egg into the dough. Once combined, knead the dough by hand until it is uniformly smooth and not at all sticky, about 2 minutes.
4. Divide the dough into 6 equal portions and roll each portion out into a rope, about 1/2 inch in diameter. Cut each rope into 1-inch segments and roll each piece into a small ball. If not serving immediately, place the gnocchi on a baking sheet and freeze until hardened, 3 to 4 hours. Transfer to a plastic bag and store in the freezer until ready to cook, or for up to 1 month.
5. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Fill a large bowl halfway with ice water and line a baking sheet with a clean kitchen towel. Add the gnocchi to the pot and cook until they rise to the surface, about 3 minutes for fresh or 5 minutes for frozen. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the gnocchi to the ice water to cool them, and then transfer them to the prepared baking sheet. Pat the tops of the gnocchi dry with paper towels and set aside.
6. Preheat the broiler and set a large casserole in the oven to warm it. Break the remaining 2 eggs into a bowl, season them with salt and pepper, and beat them with a whisk.
7. Put the bacon in the casserole and set under the broiler until the bacon is browned and crispy, about 5 minutes. Remove the casserole from the oven, add the gnocchi, butter, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, and the Pecorino. Season with pepper. Stir gently for 1 minute to incorporate the ingredients, being careful not to break the gnocchi. Return the casserole to the oven and cook just long enough to heat the gnocchi, about 2 minutes. Remove the casserole from the oven, and add the eggs, stirring gently for 1 minute to incorporate. They should start to cook on contact with the gnocchi.
8. Remove the casserole from the oven. Top the gnocchi with the remaining Parmesan and the bread crumbs and broil in the oven until the cheese is lightly browned, about 1 minute. Serve the casserole family style from the center of the table.