Spaghetti Carbonara With Italian Sausage And Proscuitto

Remove casings from sausages and crumble meat. Finely chop prosciutto.

In a wide frying pan over medium-low heat, melt half the butter. Add sausage and half the prosciutto to pan and cook, stirring until sausage is lightly browned and prosciutto is curled (about 10 minutes). Stir in remaining ingredients.

If you wish to complete the preparation at the table, have ready in separate containers the remaining butter, the parsley, eggs, the 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and the pepper.

Cook spaghetti in a large kettle of boiling salted water according to package directions until al dente. Drain well and add to hot meat mixture. At the table (if you wish), add butter and parsley to spaghetti mixture. Mix quickly to blend. At once, pour in eggs and quickly lift and mix spaghetti to coat well with egg.

Sprinkle in the 1/2 cup cheese and a dash of pepper; mix again. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.

Ground Beef Carbonara Sauce: Follow directions for Carbonara Sauce, but omit sausage and Prosciutto. Instead brown 1/2 to 3/4 pound ground lean beef (crumbled) with 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds (coarsely crushed), 1 small onion (finely chopped) and 1 clove garlic (minced or pressed). Continue to cook until onion is soft. Beat eggs with 1/4 teaspoon salt.