Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Eggs, cured pork, cheese, pepper. No cream, no garlic, no apologies. The whole trick is treating the residual heat of the pasta as your gentlest possible burner.
- Total time
- 15 min
- Serves
- 2
- Effort
- Medium
What you need
Written for 2 — nudge the counter and the numbers follow.
0 of 6 in the basket.
How you make it
Put the spaghetti on to boil in lightly salted water and cook to 1 minute under the packet time; the guanciale and cheese bring plenty of salt.
Meanwhile put the guanciale into a cold wide pan and set it over medium-low heat, rendering slowly for 7 to 8 minutes until the fat runs clear and the pieces are crisp at the edges.
Whisk the whole eggs, yolks, pecorino and pepper in a bowl to a thick paste, then whisk in 2 tbsp of hot pasta water to temper it.
Take the pan of guanciale completely off the heat and let it cool for 30 seconds, then add the drained pasta and toss in the fat.
Pour in the egg mixture and toss constantly off the heat for about 60 seconds, adding pasta water a splash at a time, until the sauce thickens to a glossy custard that clings. If it looks thin, return the pan to the barest heat for a few seconds at a time, stirring, never letting it scramble.
Read all that and thought “absolutely not”?
Completely fair. Spaghetti alla Carbonara is sitting in the Italian kitchen right now, it costs nothing, and it will never arrive.
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Four ingredients, zero compromises, endless opinions.