Foolproof Carbonara
Admittedly, Carbonara used to be a restaurant-only dish for me. I found the concept of pouring eggs into a sauce very intimidating and the thought of scrambled eggs in my spaghetti was something I could not get behind. But over the years I learned how to make it various ways. This here is my favourite, foolproof method that anyone can do, Perfect texture, flavour and complexity with just a handful of ingredients.
Here’s how I made it!
You’ll need a couple eggs plus a couple yolks, pecorino-Romano (OR parm-reg if that’s what you have), guanciale (or pancetta, or even a thick cut bacon), and spaghetti (I had linguine this time.). I also use a couple cloves of garlic, smashed but peel on and fresh pepper.
Fresh ground pepper is best and for extra heat, I crush my peppercorns and use a sieve just to take the finely ground pepper from inside the peppercorn but you can skip this step. It gives a little more heat to the pepper but is not necessary.
Smash a couple cloves, shred your cheese and finely chop your meat. You want everything ready to go as this dish comes together lightning fast,
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add your pasta.
Meanwhile, add your meat and the garlic cloves, along with a big pinch of black pepper to a big pan and turn the heat up to medium high. You want the meat to slowly render and crisp up and you will use it in your sauce so take your time.
Whisk your eggs in a bowl with a small handful of pecorino and slowly add a ladle of hot pasta water while whisking. You want to bring those eggs up in temperature so they don’t get shocked and scramble when they hit the pan.
Turn the pan’s heat off and add your pasta and some pasta water (start with 1/3 cup); you can add more later if the sauce needs to be thinned out.
Once the sizzling stops, slowly add your tempered eggs to the pan along with 1/2 cup of cheese, tossing it the entire time.
The hot pan, tempered eggs, fat from the meat, and pasta water will all come together to create this creamy sauce.
Serve hot with more cheese and pepper if desired!
Recipe
Ingredients:
450 g spaghetti or linguine
200 g chopped guanciale, pancetta or thick cut bacon
2 eggs + 2 yolks, ROOM TEMP
Fresh black pepper
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 cup pecorino romano plus more for serving
Directions:
Prepare all of your ingredients ahead of time.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it well and add your pasta.
To a cold pan, add your meat, garlic and black pepper and turn the heat to medium-high.
While the meat cooks and crisps up, whisk your eggs with a small handful of cheese.
When the pasta is a minute from al dente, add a ladle of pasta to the eggs (slowly) to bring the eggs up in temperature.
When the meat is super crispy, turn the heat off and immediately add the pasta directly from the pot to the pan, dragging in some pasta water.
Add 1/3 cup pasta water to the pan, and then slowly stream in the whisked eggs while tossing the pasta the entire time. Keep tossing and add the cheese and more pasta water if needed.
Serve immediately with more cheese and pepper!
