When making Spaghetti alla Carbonara, the kitchen is quickly filled with Italian atmosphere, and someone will surely ask if there is another plate left. Roman favourite with egg, pecorino and guanciale. There's no cream in it, just a silky sauce and serious fork crunch. The answer usually depends on how quickly the questioner gets to the pot.
Thorough preparation
- Preparation: prepare all the ingredients, grate the cheeses, chop the necessary ingredients, and set aside a large mug for the pasta's starchy cooking water. With Italian pasta, it is important to have everything at hand due to the quick assembly.
- Cut the guanciale into small strips and, starting from a cold pan, fry on medium heat until golden and crispy. Leave the rendered fat in the pan.
- Mix the egg yolk and the whole egg with most of the pecorino and plenty of black pepper until smooth. You should get a thick cream.
- Cook the spaghetti in moderately salted water until al dente. Before straining, set aside at least two deciliters of starchy cooking water.
- Roll the hot pasta in the guanciale fat, then remove the pan from the heat. Add the egg cream and mix quickly while loosening it little by little with cooking water.
- Serve immediately with the crispy guanciale, the remaining pecorino and fresh pepper. A good carbonara is bright and creamy, not dry or runny.
- Finishing and serving: serve the pasta immediately on a preheated plate. Before serving, check the consistency of the sauce; if it's too thick, loosen it with a little cooking water, if it's too thin, work it together with short, vigorous stirring.
Practical tips and common mistakes
- Add the egg-cheese cream to the pasta in the removed pan; cooking water and residual heat make sauce, too much heat makes scrambled eggs.
- Cook the pasta until al dente, because it softens even more in the sauce.
- Grate the cheese finely and add it in several portions so that it melts smoothly.
- Serve fresh: these sauces thicken quickly as they stand.