Rustico’s couscous carbonara photo courtesy of Amber Pfau.

Carbonara is one of those fatty, delicious preparations of pasta that most people love. What could be better than a rich, unctuous sauce that contains garlic, Parmesan, and cracked black pepper that is studded with bacon?

Carbonara recipes vary the world over. Traditional Italian recipes tend to use egg to coat the pasta and give it a creamier mouthfeel. It’s slightly more complicated and, sometimes, a little ugly as the addition of eggs litter the sauce with rags of scrambled egg. But it is very tasty, nonetheless. Meanwhile, Americans and other non-Italians usually decide to take a prettier and equally tasty shortcut, adding cream to their carbonara sauce as well as a medley of vegetables for color.

Rustico‘s Steve Mannino was kind enough to share his approach to carbonara and how he applies it to Israeli couscous. The results are fantastic. Read on for the full instructions.