Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Leo Hartmann Demo- Makes
- 4 servings
- Active
- 31 min
- Total
- 30 min
You’ll Need large pot, large frying pan (non-stick or well seasoned steel, wide enough to toss the pasta), whisk, slotted spoon, fine grater
Method
-
Bring a large pot of water to the boil and salt it well; it should taste pleasantly seasoned.
-
Trim the hard rind from the , then slice it about 5 mm (¼ in) thick and cut the slices into strips roughly 1 cm (⅜ in) wide. Keep the rind to flavour a soup.
-
Put the guanciale into a cold non-stick pan and set it over medium-high heat. Let it sizzle in its own fat for about , stirring now and then.
fat turns clear and pools in the panstrips are golden and crisp at the edges but not dark -
While the guanciale cooks, drop the into the boiling water and cook until al dente, a minute short of the packet time.
the pasta bends but still has a firm, pale core when bitten -
Put the in a bowl, add the and a generous grinding of , and whisk until you have a thick, smooth cream.
no dry streaks of cheese remain -
Turn off the heat under the guanciale. Lift the pieces out with a slotted spoon into a small bowl, leaving all the fat behind. Add a ladle of pasta water to the fat in the pan and swirl.
-
Drain the spaghetti, or lift it with tongs, straight into the pan and toss it briefly in the fat and water so every strand is coated.
-
Move the pan off the heat entirely. Pour in the egg cream and toss quickly and constantly so the residual heat thickens it. Loosen with a little more pasta water if needed.
sauce is glossy and clings to the pastano flecks of scrambled egg -
Stir the guanciale back through, toss once more, and serve at once with extra and a little more pepper on top.
From Leo Hartmann
Only yolks go into this carbonara, which gives a deep golden, custard-smooth sauce that coats every strand. The guanciale is rendered gently so its fat becomes the base of the sauce, and the eggs meet the pasta off the heat so they thicken instead of scrambling.
Notes
- Guanciale, not bacon. Cured pork cheek is fattier and sweeter than pancetta and renders into soft, translucent pieces. Pancetta is the nearest substitute; smoked bacon changes the dish.
- Grate the cheese finely on a microplane so it melts into the yolks rather than clumping.
- Heat is everything. The pan must be off the burner when the yolks go in. If the sauce looks thin, toss for a few seconds longer; if it starts to tighten, splash in pasta water at once.
- Pepper is a main ingredient here, not a garnish: grind it coarsely and generously.
- Keep the leftover egg whites for meringues or an omelette.
Storage
Carbonara does not keep or reheat well; the sauce turns grainy. Make only what you will eat.
Make Ahead
Cut the guanciale and grate the Pecorino up to a day ahead and keep both covered in the fridge.
When to Start
Plan backwards from a time
Filed under Main · Southern Europe › Italy › Lazio · Pasta · Pasta · Pasta Carbonara. Tags: #no cream, #quick, #roman classic.
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