Instant Pot Pasta Carbonara

Ingredients:

8 oz. spaghetti noodles
4.5 cups water
2 tablespoons butter divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 slices of bacon
2 garlic cloves
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

Grab a handful of spaghetti noodles at a time, break in half and arrange in a criss-cross pattern. Add water. Do not stir. Place one tablespoon of butter on top of pasta. Close the lid. Set valve to “sealing” position. Make sure the IP is set to cooking on HIGH pressure. Press “manual” setting and set timer to 7 minutes. The IP will take up to 10 minutes to come to pressure.

Once the timer is done, press “cancel/off” button. Wait 1 minute, then switch the valve to “venting” position to release pressure. Once the pin drops and pressure is released, open the lid carefully away from your face. Spoon out 1/2 cup of pasta water into measuring cup and set aside. Drain pasta over colander, discard remaining pasta water. Keep spaghetti in colander.

Place the insert back in the Instant Pot. Press “saute” setting. Wait 1 minutes. Add olive oil to insert. Add bacon and cook until crispy. Add garlic and saute with bacon for 1 minute. Add one tablespoon of butter and let melt. Press “cancel/off” button. Add pasta back to the IP. Toss well with bacon, garlic and grease.

In a small bowl, beat egg and Parmesan together. Slowly add the egg and Parmesan mixture, stirring constantly to make sure the egg does not scramble. It should turn into creamy sauce. Add reserved pasta water, a little bit at a time, stir well. The pasta should be creamy.

Season with black pepper. Serve garnished with chopped parsley and more grated Parmesan.