Risotto Carbonara

"Success has a thousand fathers, but failure is an orphan."
-Mickey Mouse

If Mickey Mouse is correct, then this dish has three fathers. The first padre is the spaghetti with guanciale and a fried poached egg from Herbsaint. The second father is the milk white, shrimp and pea risotto from Stella! Finally, the third pops comes from the pages of a recent Bon Appetit which had a cartoon depiction of how David Chang, a New York super chef, created one of his famous dishes: soft poached egg with caviar, onion soubisse, and purple sweet potato vinegar.

Eggs have recently become an obsession. The flavor, texture, and substance of an egg can be changed easily and drastically. The egg is as comfortable at breakfast time as she is at dinner. It truly is incredible.

So the mind started to race. I wanted to create a dish that would resemble those inspirations that I had tasted, while using a new technique. I had some risotto in the pantry and some fresh chicken stock, so went in that direction. It could have just as easily taken me to ordering take-out. Carbonara is classically, raw egg, some bacon, maybe a little cream, some parsley, black pepper, and loads of cheese tossed with hot pasta. Needless to say, carbonara makes other applications of bacon and eggs seem juvenile.

Risotto is a wonderful dish to cook. The rhythmic stirring, careful watching, and adjustment of liquid to rice should feel like second nature to anyone who has ever turned flour, oil, trinity, and stock into gumbo. Soft boiling an egg is pretty simple. A rolling boil, place egg in water, and cook. I did mine for about six minutes. Then toss in an ice bath and peel.

Risotto, some crisp bacon, a heavy dose of the King of Cheeses, a touch of cream, the egg, and some parsley. I also added a touch of truffle salt to the end of the dish because too much of a good thing is never enough. When cooked perfectly the yolk spills out, it mingles with the risotto for a moment before deciding to join the party. Then you get the pungent aroma of truffle, the comfort of the cream, a slight nuttiness from Parma, the bite of black pepper, a crunch of bacon, and the soulfulness of the pudding-like risotto. Serve it with a white burgundy to take it to the extreme.

Try it or you will become an orphan.