Carbonara

Ingredients

• 400 g spaghetti (or rigatoni)
• 150 g guanciale
• 4 egg yolks and 1 whole egg
• 60 g grated Pecorino Romano + a little to serve
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Salt for the water

Method

1. Bring water to the boil and salt it moderately: guanciale and pecorino are already salty.
2. Cut the rind off the guanciale, slice it into strips about 1 cm wide and render it in a dry pan over medium-low heat for 8–10 minutes, until the fat is translucent and the edges are crisp. Turn off the heat.
3. Whisk the yolks, the egg, most of the pecorino and plenty of pepper into a thick cream.
4. Cook the pasta al dente; keep a cup of the cooking water.
5. Transfer the pasta to the guanciale and its fat and toss.
6. Off the heat, after about a minute, add the egg mixture and 2–3 tbsp of pasta water; toss vigorously until a creamy sauce forms rather than scrambled egg.
7. Serve at once with the remaining pecorino and more pepper.

Tips

• There is no officially registered carbonara recipe; this is the common Roman version. It contains no cream, garlic, onion or butter.
• Pancetta is a common substitute for guanciale but not the traditional one; smoked bacon changes the flavour.
• The eggs are only gently heated, so use very fresh eggs.

Related topics

🍝 Carbonara · Spaghetti · Rigatoni · 🥚 Chicken egg · 🧀 Pecorino

Sources

• Consorzio per la tutela del Formaggio Pecorino Romano DOP — caratteristiche
• Vocabolario Treccani — carbonaro (alla carbonara)

Servings: 4

Themes