Chicken Carbonara

2 teaspoons olive oil
2 ounces thinly sliced bacon, chopped *
1 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/4 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Salt
1/2 pound spaghetti
2 cups coarsely shredded chicken
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel

Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and garlic and saute until it is brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Cool slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cream, cheese, yolks, basil, and parsley to blend.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the spaghetti and cook until it is just tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Drain.

Add the chicken to the pan with the pancetta and stir to combine. Next, add the spaghetti and the cream mixture and toss over medium-low heat until the chicken is heated through and the sauce coats the spaghetti thickly, about 4 minutes (do not boil or you might end up scrambling the eggs). Season the pasta, to taste, with pepper and salt if needed (the bacon will likely add all the salt you need). Transfer the pasta to a large wide serving bowl. Sprinkle the lemon zest over and serve.

*Alright, here's the deal with the bacon. The recipe actually calls for pancetta, but I wanted to see how it would taste with bacon since that is SO much cheaper. Because I used bacon, I discarded most of the grease after I cooked it up with the garlic. This was my first time making carbonara, and we really liked it! I loved the lemon zest- it added a very subtle flavor. Tasty!