Classic Carbonara
Simple, salty, silky, sinful.
If you know me well, you know that anytime carbonara is on a menu — I can’t not order it. Given my obsession with this classic, it was about time I started making it at home.
Real carbonara takes only 3 ingredients to come together — fresh eggs, grated cheese and cured pork — and, most importantly, technique.
If you can find it, the true Roman recipe calls for Guanciale (cured pork cheeks), but good pancetta more than does the trick. If you can't find pancetta either, don’t stress — thick-cut bacon works too!
Let’s cook!
You’ll need:
6 oz good pancetta or Guanciale, diced into 1/4 inch cubes
5 fresh egg yolks
1 whole, fresh egg
1 c grated Pecorino Romano, plus plenty more for serving
1 lb linguine (or any long, thicker pasta)
1/2 c fresh parsley
Quality EVOO
Salt & plenty of fresh-cracked pepper
Makes 4-6 servings.
Steps:
Swirl a few turns of EVOO to the bottom of a cold Dutch oven (“D.O.”), and heat over medium. Add diced pancetta, season with 2-3 cranks of fresh ground black pepper.
Sauté the pancetta until browned and fat is rendered, 5-8 min. Remove D.O. from heat, and set aside until ready to make the sauce.
Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil for the pasta. In a bowl or Pyrex, combine egg yolks, whole egg, and grated Pecorino — whisk well until completely smooth.
Add 1-2 tbsp of salt to the boiling water, and cook linguine until just al dente (2-3 min below package timing). Before draining, be sure to reserve 2 cups of pasta water.
Return the D.O to low heat, and add 1/2 c of the water to the drippings. Using tongs, toss the drained pasta with the pancetta until well-coated and liquid is absorbed, ~2 min. Season with several cranks of black pepper.
Whisk 1/2 c of the pasta water into the egg and cheese mixture to warm, before pouring over the linguine. Add another splash of pasta water, and toss well.
Keep tossing actively, adding splashes of pasta water as needed, until the sauce is silky — 3-5 min. Do not rush this step or stop tossing, as you don’t want to “scramble” the eggs. If the sauce looks to be getting clumpy, turn off the heat entirely.
When you’ve achieved the finished consistency, serve immediately. Garnish with more cracked pepper, grated Pecorino, and fresh chopped parsley.