Carbonara
Italian
Keep a little pasta water nearby and take the pan off direct heat before the eggs go in. Toss continuously and add the water in small amounts until the sauce coats the spaghetti.
- Servings (recipe yield)
- 4 servings
- Prep time
- 5 min
- Cook time
- 25 min
- Rest / chill / soak
- Not provided
- Total time
- Not provided
Estimated times for this version of the recipe. Equipment, ingredient preparation and batch size can change the timing.
Times from the source where available.
Ingredients
- Spaghetti: 320 g | 11 oz
- Eggs: 5
- Guanciale or Smoked Pancetta (cleaned and cubed): 150 g | 5 oz
- Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano (grated)(optional)
Instructions
- Crack the eggs in a bowl but only add the yolks. Add a generous amount of your preferred grated cheese (Pecorino or Parmigiano) around 35g (you can optionally add a dash of black pepper).
- Fill a pot with water and salt it less than typical pasta water. When it boils, cook the pasta one minute less than advised.
- Fry the preferred pork (Guanciale or Smoked Pancetta) in an iron or nonstick pan (if using a different kind of pan add a dash of extra virgin olive oil) on low to medium heat until the sides are crisp but the insides are chewy.
- While everything is being cooked and fried, beat the eggs manually using a fork until everything is entirely liquid. Remember to watch the time.
- When your pasta is done (-1 minute), drain it and put it in the bowl with eggs. At this step you may consider the timing: if the pasta is too hot you will cook the eggs, and some people don't like it this way, so just wait for a minute. Keep moving and stirring to fully incorporate the eggs. Add guanciale and as many fats remaining in the pan as you want. Keep moving and stirring.
- Plate and optionally garnish with the preferred grated cheese and black pepper. Voila.
Source: Public Domain Recipes · Peter Piontek, Ladislao Blanchi · Recipe source · Public-domain source license