Carbonara is a classic Italian pasta dish made with eggs, Pecorino Romano cheese, guanciale (cured pork cheek), and black pepper. This dish is super simple and involves NO CREAM. This dish is typically served with spaghetti or bucatini, but my personal favorite pasta for carbonara is rigatoni. This recipe is a foolproof way to make a perfect carbonara. Below is a YouTube video that shows the step by step process!
This recipe is an all-time classic that I absolutely cannot take credit for but I do have a few helpful tips to make your carbonara stand out from the crowd.
Tip #1: Always toast your peppercorns and grind them fresh.
Tip #2: Grate your pecorino romano extremely fine. You want the cheese to melt into a luscious cream instead of clumping.
Tip #3: Mix together, eggs, pecorino and guanciale grease with some hot pasta cooking water. This will temper the eggs and cheese and prevent them from curdling.
Tip #4: Use high quality guanciale (not pancetta or bacon). Guanciale is the pig cheek or “jowl” and it has a unique salty flavor that is essential to an authentic carbonara. Pancetta is a good substitute but won’t exactly match the flavor profile of guanciale.
Tip #5: Add your egg and cheese mixture to your pasta off the heat. The residual heat from the pasta is plenty enough to cook the egg.
Tip #6: Cook your pasta “al dente”. “Al dente” is an Italian term that translates to “to the tooth” and describes how your pasta should be cooked until it is firm to the bite but not hard. If your pasta has no “bite” or is mushy, you have overcooked it.
These are a few helpful and quick tips that can turn a GOOD Carbonara into a GREAT Carbonara.
Classic Pasta Alla Carbonara
Description
Carbonara is a classic Italian pasta dish made with eggs, Pecorino Romano cheese, guanciale (cured pork cheek), and black pepper. This dish is super simple and involves NO CREAM. This dish is typically served with spaghetti or bucatini, but my personal favorite pasta for carbonara is rigatoni.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Prepping Your Guanciale
Slice your guanciale into 1/4" or 0.6cm slices then cut into ribbons. Drop your guanciale into a cold pan and set to medium low heat. Cook guanciale until it has a crispy yet tender texture. Remove guanciale from the pan and reserve the grease.
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Cooking Your Pasta
Bring a large pot of water to a roaring boil and add in a generous amount of sea salt. Drop in your spaghetti into your boiling water and cook for 8-10 minutes or until "al dente". Reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water and strain your pasta.
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Making Your Carbonara Sauce
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together egg yolks, pecorino, pepper and guanciale grease until a thick cream is formed. Whisk in 1/4" of pasta cooking water to temper your eggs and cheese.
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Mixing Your Pasta And Sauce
In a cool pan, mix together your pasta and carbonara sauce. Add in a splash of pasta water and stir vigorously until the sauce becomes velvety and sticks to each individual strand of spaghetti. Mix in 3/4 of your guanciale.
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Enjoy!
Top your pasta with some more crispy guanciale, black pepper, and pecorino romano. Then its time to Dig In!
