1
StepBring a large pot of water to the boil and salt it only lightly — the guanciale and the pecorino are both salty. Cut the guanciale into strips about 5 mm thick, keeping the fat on.
Pasta & Noodles
Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Rome's four-ingredient pasta: guanciale rendered until the edges crisp, egg yolks, aged pecorino romano and far more black pepper than feels sensible. The sauce is emulsified with nothing but starchy cooking water, so it takes longer to boil the pot than to finish the dish.
25 min
Prep: 10 / Cook: 15
4
servings
Medium
Difficulty
4.4
9 Ratings
Ingredients
- 400 g spaghetti
- 150 g guanciale
- 4 pieces egg yolk
- 1 piece egg
- 70 g pecorino romano
- 0 black pepper
- 0 salt
Preparation
6 Steps
2
StepPut the guanciale into a cold, dry frying pan and set it over medium-low heat. Let the fat render out slowly for 6 to 8 minutes, until the strips are golden and crisp at the edges but still soft in the middle. Turn off the heat and leave all the rendered fat in the pan.
3
StepGrate the pecorino finely. Whisk it with the yolks, the whole egg and a heavy grinding of black pepper until you have a thick, sandy paste. Loosen it with two tablespoons of the hot pasta water so it pours.
4
StepCook the spaghetti until al dente, about a minute short of the packet time. Before draining, scoop out a mugful of the cooking water — it is the only thing that will bring the sauce together.
5
StepDrain the pasta and tip it straight into the pan of guanciale, off the heat. Toss for 30 seconds so every strand picks up the fat and the pan loses its fierce heat.
6
StepPour in the egg and cheese mixture and toss hard and continuously, adding splashes of pasta water, until the sauce turns glossy and clings to the strands rather than pooling. Serve immediately with more grated pecorino and another grind of pepper.
Chef's Tip
There is no cream in carbonara and there never was — the silkiness comes from yolk, cheese and pasta water beaten together off the heat. If the pan is still hissing when the eggs go in you will get scrambled egg, so let it cool for half a minute first.
Comments (5)
my grandson asked for a second plate and he normally refuses anything with egg in it
half pecorino half parmesan here because pecorino costs a fortune. still very good
the sandy paste stage looked wrong to me but it loosened perfectly with the pasta water
is pancetta acceptable? nobody in salvador sells guanciale
pancetta is fine, just render it a little slower. try to avoid smoked bacon, the smoke takes over
made this after a night shift and for once no scrambled egg. taking the pan off the heat was the whole trick