Pasta Carbonara is such a simple recipe, with the sauce requiring just 3 ingredients. Often, people resort to cream to get the sauce nice and silky - but there's really no need for it. To get the desired consistency, the egg and cheese mixture must be added to the pasta whilst it's off the heat, just after it has been drained. The heat coming off of the pasta is actually hot enough to cook the eggs, but not quite hot enough to scramble them - which is the sweet spot we're after.
The true authentic way of making carbonara is using guanciale (cured pork jowl). It's most often found at Italian deli's, but bacon is an easy replacement. The guanciale does have a significantly different flavour, in my opinion, and you need to use way less due to the fact that it's got such a strong taste.
The below recipe will make enough for 4 people.
Ingredients
250gr guanciale OR bacon lardons
5 medium eggs
160gr grated parmesan OR pecorino romano
1 tbsp fresh ground pepper
500gr fresh egg long pasta OR 320gr dry long pasta
Method
1. Fill a large pot with water and a tablespoon of sea salt and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions.
2. Remove the skin off your guanciale, as otherwise this will become very tough and rubbery. Cut into small, more or less equal sized cubes.
3. Fry the guanciale in a large frying pan. Do not add any oil. Guanciale (or bacon for that matter) is extremely greasy - it'll release its own oils which we'll actually add to the pasta.
4. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and add in the cheese to combine. Set aside.
5. Keep half a ladle of pasta water, drain the rest and place ithe pasta back in the large pot. Add the guanciale, oils and all. Toss to combine.
6. Keeping the heat off, add the egg and cheese mixture and toss continuously. Add the reserved pasta water and keep tossing. If you're afraid that the pasta has gotten too cold (ie. to the touch), put the heat back on extremely low for just a few moments, and keep tossing. Do not let it sit, otherwise the eggs will scramble. As soon as the cheese has melted, and the sauce has become glossy and coats the pasta, you're ready to serve!
7. Garnish the pasta with parmesan shavings, and serve warm.
Recreating this recipe? Tag me on instagram @juliawgr!
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