Roasted Garlic Carbonara

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Roasted Garlic

1. Use your fingers to peel away all the loose, papery, outer layers around the head of garlic, leaving the head intact with all the cloves connected.
2. Trim about ¼ inch off the top of the head of garlic to expose the cloves inside.
3. Place the garlic in the center of a 6-inch square of aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil, ensuring the oil saturates the cloves.
4. Fold the sides of the aluminum foil up to the center and seal, creating a foil packet with the garlic inside.
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the garlic cloves are soft and deep golden brown. Remove the garlic from the oven and carefully open the sealed foil packet to allow the garlic to cool slightly.
6. Once cool enough to touch, squeeze out the cloves into a medium bowl. Use a fork to smash them.

Carbonara

1. To the smashed cloves, add eggs, parmesan, salt, and pepper. Whisk together and set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook al dente (about 8-10 minutes). Turn off the heat. Do not drain the pasta water; you will use it again.
3. Use tongs to add the cooked pasta directly from the pasta water to a medium skillet over low heat.
4. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the skillet, constantly tossing with the tongs to ensure it is evenly coated with the creamy sauce. If the sauce is too thick, gradually add pasta water, tossing until the desired consistency is reached (we used about ½ cup). This process happens quickly. You don't want to cook the pasta for too long or your eggs will start to scramble.
5. Remove from heat and garnish with parsley and additional parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.