Roman carbonara recipe
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A quick and simple dish, carbonara is a delicious, creamy pasta which has become popular around the world. While there are many recipes with cream, onion, garlic and other ingredients, traditionally, carbonara is made from guanciale, eggs, pecorino romano and black pepper.
Guanciale is essentially a bacon made from the pork cheeks and cured with salt, sugar, and spices. It's quite a fatty meat and has more flavour that bacon alone. Saying that, if you're struggling to find guanciale, you can substitute bacon in the recipe. Just choose a fatty bacon which hasn't been smoked and the pasta will still be delicious.
Pecorino Romano is the cheese traditionally used in carbonara, however if you need to find a substitute Parmigiano-Reggiano also works well. This recipe uses the spaghetti, but feel free to use a different pasta if you prefer - fettuccine is a popular choice.
Ingredients
- 400g spaghetti
- 150g guanciale
- 4 eggs
- 100g finely grated pecorino romano
- salt
- pepper
Directions
- 1Slice the guanciale into strips 1 or 2 centimeters thick using a sharp knife. Cook in a large pan for approximately 10-15 minutes, until the fat renders.
- 2While the guanciale is cooking, bring a large pot of water to the boil and cook the spaghetti. Salt the water moderately.
- 3In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the pecorino until creamy.
- 4Just before the spaghetti is completely cooked, transfer the pasta to the pan with the containing the guanciale. Completely coat the pasta in the oils in the pan. Reserve the pasta water.
- 5Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Then add the egg mixture to the spaghetti along with a couple of tablespoons of cooking water - this helps make a creamy sauce. Mix quickly to prevent the eggs from scrambling. After a minute or two, you should have a creamy sauce.
- 6Season to taste with salt and freshly-group black pepper. Sprinkle some additional pecorino over the top if desired.
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Last Updated 3 May 2022
