Since my Nonna is long gone, I need a judgement:
Ingredients: Leftover ham, diced Onion, diced Garlic, crushed Peas, frozen 3 eggs, scrambled Cheddar cheese, shredded Salt, pepper, and nutmeg, to taste Pasta, your choice Mustard, to taste
Instructions:
Dice the stuff that needs dicing.
Start heating pasta water.
Sweat the onions till translucent.
Add pasta to pasta water.
Add garlic to onions.
Add ham to garlic and onions.
Whisk eggs, cheese, salt, pepper, mustard, and nutmeg together in a large bowl.
Add peas to garlic, onions, and jam.
Add some of the pasta water to the garlic, onions, peas, and ham.
Drain the pasta and immediately toss with the egg cheese mixture.
Immediately add all of the ham, peas, garlic, and onion and toss.
Serve immediately with more mustard in the side.
En Guete!
In my mind, the carbonara is the method of cooking the eggs using the heat of the pasta. The amounts were mostly eyeballed or controlled by the amount that I had in the icebox.
It was tasty, if not traditional.