More than forty years ago, I returned from a college semester in Rome to a New York still awash in thick tomato sauce. My Roman discovery, spaghettialla carbonara仍然是未知的,和我的朋友们持怀疑态度of a sauce that wasn't red. Today Americans have adoptedcarbonarawith a vengeance and feel free to vary it as they please. But while it is very tempting to add things to the basiccarbonara, and far be it from us to step on your creativity, don't call it carbonara if you add mushrooms or peas or anything else.
Thecarbonarawars are even more heated than theamatricianawars. Not even Oretta and I agree on every detail. Oretta feels some oil helps theguancialeto cook evenly, while I, from a North American bacon culture, find that starting theguancialein a cold pan will render enough fat to obtain the same result without introducing another ingredient and another flavor, especially one that the inventors of the dish did not use. If you start playing with the formula to reduce the cholesterol, however, just skip it and make a broccoli sauce.
The more or less civil disagreements are over minor variations. There is debate over whether to use whole eggs or just yolks (it's unlikely the pastoral creators of the dish were going to whip up a meringue with the unused whites) and whether parmigiano is admissible—yes, it's widely accepted on grounds of deliciousness, but pecorino romano alone is more faithful to the lost original. Experts and aficionados pretty much agree that the meat of choice should beguanciale, with pancetta as understudy. Bacon, which is smoked, imparts an undesirable breakfasty taste. No butter, no cream—but a slosh of starchy pasta water can be used to smooth things out if you start to panic.
It is incorrect to speak of "carbonarasauce" because the dish belongs to the group of pastas that are inseparable from their condiment. The ingredients are prepped and ready for action, but the "sauce"—a golden cream studded with glisteningguanciale是创建正确的啊n the pasta itself. And, careful, "cream" here means something creamy. There is no cream in carbonara. The charcoal makers of northern Lazio, Abruzzo, and Umbria used to make it outdoors. Do you think they used butter and cream?
This simple dish requires practice; don't make it for company till you've tried it in private. You will eventually develop your own moves and rhythm and find just the spot in your kitchen where everything will keep warm without cooking. Long ago I became devoted to the Salton Hotray®, an electric food warmer and popular wedding present in the era of my first marriage. I still love it forcarbonara(and much else).
Use the best, freshest eggs you can find, and don't even think of making this dish with eggs from stressed-out battery chickens. You can taste the difference. If you can find realguanciale, so much the better. Once the eggs have been added to the pasta, do not let the pan touch the heat directly or you will wind up with scrambled eggs. A low setting on an electric food warmer, like my old Hotray, is safe and effective.
Ingredients
For thecondimento:
To make the dish:
Step 1
Put theguancialeand oil in a large skillet. Sauté over medium heat until the edges of theguancialepieces are just turning brown, about 2 minutes. Don't let it get too crisp. Set the pan and its contents aside but keep warm.
Step 2
Bring 5 quarts (5 liters) of water to a boil in an 8-quart (8-liter) pot over high heat. When the water boils, add 3 tablespoons kosher salt, then add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until有嚼劲.
Step 3
While the pasta is cooking, break the eggs into a small bowl and add all the cheese and a generous grinding of pepper. Whisk gently until the mixture is smooth.
Step 4
Drain the pasta (reserving and keeping warm a cup of its water) and put it in the skillet with the guanciale over low heat. Toss quickly to mix well.
Step 5
Holding the skillet slightly above but not touching the burner, pour the egg and cheese mixture in a stream into the pasta. Now, if you have the skill, toss the pasta with a deft movement of the wrist to blend all the contents of the pan. If you don't, remove the pan from the heat and mix quickly with two wooden spoons. If you have a warm spot, such as a food warmer or even over a pilot light, rest the pan there while you work.
Step 6
Whatever you do, work fast or the pasta will get cold and the eggs will stay raw and runny. Ideally the heat of the pasta will cook the egg just enough, and the sauce should be creamy. You can mix in a tiny bit of the reserved water to smooth things out, but you probably won't need to.
Step 7
Transfer to individual heated bowls or plates and serve instantaneously.
Pasta shapes:The canonical pasta forcarbonarais spaghetti, butbucatiniare close behind.Penneand rigatoni are short formats often foundalla carbonaraand easier to handle in quantity.
Wine suggestion:Frascati would be the choice in a Roman trattoria, but thecarbonarawars extend also to the wine pairing. Suggestions range from light red Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo, to a delicate rosé Franciacorta, to a sparkling white from Lombardia, to Champagne, to Barolo, a big red from Piedmont.
How would you rate Carbonara (*Guanciale, Egg, and Pecorino Romano*)?
Leave a Review
Reviews (30)
Back to TopWasn't expecting to like this SO much! Bought the guanciale at an Italian meat store. Followed the directions and volumes almost to a T. The only change I made was to render more of the fat out of the meat as I hate undercooked bacon-like meat. It was delish and I will definitely be making this again! Such a pleasant surprise for so few ingredients. I can't wait to see how the leftovers taste tonight. Thanks for a great recipe!!
Anonymous
Arizona
5/6/2022
The ratio of the pasta water to cheese is what I’ve found important. This recipe is a fantastic start and you can immediately begin tweaking to your taste ( just like each grandmother in Umbria !) I ended up with two (fresh ) eggs, whole and briefly whisked in a little pepper and only 1 tablespoon from a cup of the grated Pecorino. I tempered this egg mixture in the warm pasta first. That’s for half pound of Bucatini but gradually folded in about a quarter cup or so of pasta water with the remaining cheese afterwards in batches. I’ve also ended up liking to leave those extreme flavor nuggets of guanciale slightly “unrendered", leave a little fat on them. In hot ( just starting to smoke) olive oil, sauté for just a few minutes and reserve that oil. Once cooled a good bit incorporate a few tablespoons of this oil into the pasta after the initial egg mixture is mixed in and tempered.
Rbumgardner@gmail.com
Magnolia Texas
7/4/2021
There is no way 10 rounded Tbs of Pecorino weighs 100g. Also, 100g is WAY too much cheese for 3 eggs. I used 10 Tbs of cheese. I also used 3/4 lb. of pasta. I also used several tablespoons of pasta water to achieve some creaminess.
carolynkotler
Manhattan
10/13/2019
I think 100g of cheese is a mistake here. It’s WAY too much.
lchesterman8548
Montreal
10/11/2019
Making tonight because I finally found guanciale at Eataly in Chicago.
Cpow83
Chicago
7/11/2019
This recipe was terrific, but I think there should be some instructions on the use of guanciale. This was my first experience with the product and was surprised about the amount of fat vs. meat as well as the skin issue. Ultimately, I removed the skin , doubled the amount of guanciale (because that is how much I had) and eliminated all but 3 tbsp. of the rendered fat. I mixed everything in a warmed pasta bowl because my carbon steel pan was too heavy to toss. Ultimately, this was the best carbonara I ever made and wouldn’t change a thing. The lightly crispy cracklings were wonderful and cannot be obtained with regular bacon.
Cinder6395
Williamsport, PA
5/8/2019
I’ll try making this again. But I’ll modify it this way: Drizzle that cup of hot pasta water in at same time as drizzling egg mixture (with help of friend) Use less than 1lb spaghetti Add more rock salt Remove pork skin before dicing Guanciale Use Three eggs and add two more yolks Let you know how that one turns out!
Ladymalu
Hawaii
4/11/2018
Olive oil? No. Best trick ever: warm the egg cheese mixture by sitting a ramekin in a dish of boiling water as of you were making custard. Then add at the end and the pasta will be silken and perfect. Temperature of the eggs is important or they won't cook. I always pour boiling pasta water into a bowl, then drain and add the pasta and guanciale, then the egg. Takes practice but when it's perfect, you will know!
lindagallery
Mill Valley, CA
9/11/2017
This was easy and fantastic. We'll be making it again and again.
tochefs
Toronto
8/5/2017
For me, frying the guanciale to the perfect color and consistency is the hardest part of this (perfect) recipe. (Alas, I have electric burners...) But because I first attempted the recipe with a beleaguered rotator cuff, I warmed a large ceramic bowl (with serving plates) in a low oven and after tossing the spaghetti in the pan with the guanciale and some of the rendering (not all) I transferred it to the warmed serving bowl and then added the egg, cheese and pepper mixture, mixing well while adding pasta water as needed for looseness. I also liked adding an extra egg yolk and my cheese mixture was 3 parts pecorino to 1 parmigiana. Delish. Only had better in Italy, by Italians.
e5af514c8810ab88e2230f53886775dd
Northern VA
7/26/2017
this is the only pasta dish i crave. regularly! we find it quite simple to make and have always had it turn out delicious, without issues cooking the eggs to a smooth, sauce-like texture. We do always make the incorporating of the egg mixture a two-person affair which i imagine is part of the reason for our consistent success. NOTES: I use a high-quality (dry) bucatini and fresh pancetta from the butcher. DIVINE!
stcysllvn
oakland, ca
7/21/2017
This was wonderful and easy to make! My first time cooking with Guanciale and it came out scrumptious. I was much more liberal with the amount of Guanciale and adjusted with a bit more olive oil. Make sure to season and taste as you go along and use the freshest ingredients. Definitely a go to recipe!
MarieSic
Los Angeles
6/15/2017
My husband and I love this recipe! We have now made it twice and it is such a good comfort food. We have used multiple types of meat (guanciale is pretty much only available at the farmers market and couldn't make it in time), once we used pancetta and another time some hot salame... both times it was delicious! It's easy (one dish) and a solid comfort meal.
bwsteele
san francisco
9/25/2016
This recipe was interesting but we like the pancetta much better. The guanciale just didn't have the flavor we liked. We also, tried the bucatini which was great but like spaghetti better for the carbonara. I tried to rate this recipe as a 3 but can't seem to click anything but the 4 on my iPad.
Cc0328
7/7/2015
I made this recipe twice with our own, home-cured guanciale. The recipe is simple and superb. Regardless of fact that guanciale is difficult for most people to find, try to search it out. Bacon and pancetta are really totally different...not that they re bad. But guanciale produces a velvetty smoothness and very distinctive taste. On the eggs, if you crack and beat lightly, they come to room temp very quickly. Mix with grated cheese and pepper and let sit. BTW, making your own guanciale is not difficult. Fresh jowl (from butcher) is salted and put in plastic container in fridge for several days and then rinsed and hung and air-dried for several weeks in a cool place in a muslin wrap. Basic dry cure. Best done in autumn. Easy how-to's on the web. But if you don't do your own, search out real guanciale. You will totally LOVE this recipe if you do.
OrganicKiwi
New Zealand
6/12/2015
