Italian carbonara

Published on 50 min main

Matteo and Valentina introduced Robin and I to an authentic carbonara recipe. It is apparently only one of many subtle variations, as they argued over many details during the cooking process. Just loved learning it with a glass of red wine!

Ingredients

  • 1 pack of tonnarelli, spaghetti, mezze maniche or rigatoni
  • 200 g guanciale or rindless bacon
  • 1 cup grated Pecorino Romano (or Parmigiano Reggiano)
  • 3 egg yolks + 1–2 entire eggs
  • Salt and black pepper

Instructions

  1. Cut the guanciale into strips of 0.5 x 5 cm.
  2. Combine the egg yolks with the grated cheese and a pinch of black pepper.
  3. Brown the strips of guanciale for 2 minutes in a pan, until crisp, then turn off the heat and leave to cool.
  4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt. Cook the pasta, setting aside a ladleful of the pasta cooking water, until al dente. Drain.
  5. Pour the reserved hot water into the frying pan with the cooled guanciale. Transfer the pasta to the same pan and mix together.
  6. Add the yolk and cheese mixture, stirring rapidly. With the pasta heat, the eggs will cook gently and become creamy — don't stir over heat otherwise the carbonara will become lumpy. It's important to wait for the pasta to cool a bit first and stir quickly to prevent the yolks from congealing and taking on the texture of scrambled eggs.
  7. Season with freshly milled black pepper and serve immediately on plates.
  8. Serve with some more grated Pecorino on top.

Adapted from this original recipe