Breakfast Carbonara

This sounds like a fun meal, but I am confused as to how the eggs get cooked. I find it improbable that 4 eggs will cook in just the heat from just-boiled pasta, so are we missing a crucial step here? The kind of step that would prevent you from serving pasta with a "sauce" of uncooked scrambled eggs??

all carbonara is breakfast carbonara

I have seen the error in my ways. I made it this weekend with great success. The cast iron did its job and the orange zest topping was especially delicious; the only change I'll make in the future is to use hot sausage. Thank you all for educating me on the marvels of carbonara!

That the sauce is cooked this way is the definition of carbonara. Direct heat would cause the eggs to scramble, which is decidedly not what you want here. The residual heat cooks it plenty.

Plus, eggs are safe, especially if gotten from ethically raised hens.

True enough. But when you substitute a good Southern sagey sausage for pancetta, the palate knows it's breakfast in Rome, Georgia and not dinner in Rome, Italy.

the heat from the pasta along with the pasta water is more than enough to "cook" the eggs properly. Remember, this is a sauce not scrambled eggs. Different.

For carbonara, I heat a pyrex bowl in the oven @ 200 degrees. this adds additional heat in event pasta is not piping hot when you mix with the eggs. Works perfectly without any scrambling effect.

Linguine should not be added in cold water, but only once it's boiling. Then cook for 6-7 minutes (or the time reported on the package) until it's al dente. Also, a true carbonara is made with yolks (1 yolk every 100g of pasta) and 1 full egg (in Rome we say it's for the saucer haha).

Yes, eggs need to be room temp. If in a hurry, bring eggs to room temp by placing eggs (still in shell of course) in a bowl with warm water for a while.

Eat enough breakfasts like this and you’ll increase the size of your carbonara footprint.

a wok is also good for making carbonara

I've made pasta carbonara many times and the eggs do indeed cook in the just-cooked pasta. It helps a lot if you bring the eggs to room temperature as the recipe calls for. Enjoy!

"Whole wheat" pasta is not any better than regular pasta. Both are refined, highly-processed flour. For it to be healthier, it would have to be whole-grain, such as Barilla or Racconto brands (most of the everyday brands don't make a whole-grain pasta).

Loved this easy and delicious dish! My only note, and I realize it's completely subjective, would be to omit the orange zest. I found it a bit overpowering and thought it diminished the flavor balance between the pasta, eggs, sausage and cheese. I might have felt differently had I served it with mimosas! There are so many variations you can do, based on your own personal preferences, which makes this a very versatile recipe.

Not using cast iron probably contributed to the eggs not cooking. Post-flame cast iron has a lot of latent heat and will have enough energy to get the job done.