Authentic Italian Carbonara
Roman carbonara is pasta, cured pork, eggs, Pecorino Romano and black pepper. That’s the whole dish. There is no cream, garlic or onion. The sauce gets its creaminess from egg yolks and cheese, loosened with starchy pasta water and the fat rendered from the pork, then heated just enough to thicken without scrambling.
That last step is the hard part, and most of this page is about it. Once you have done it a couple of times, it’s one of the fastest dinners there is: about 25 minutes from putting the water on to eating.
Carbonara first appears in print in the years after the Second World War, and where it came from is still argued about. What isn’t disputed is how it’s made in Rome today, and that’s the version here.
Serves 4.
The ingredients, and why each one matters
- 400 g (14 oz) spaghetti, or rigatoni, tonnarelli or mezze maniche
- 150 g (5 oz) guanciale, or unsmoked pancetta
- 5 large egg yolks plus 1 large whole egg, at room temperature
- 100 g (3 ½ oz) Pecorino Romano, finely grated (about 1 cup), plus extra to serve
- 2 tsp freshly and coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp (about 18 g) fine sea salt, for the pasta water
Guanciale is cured pork cheek. It has more fat than pancetta, and that fat renders into something sweeter and more delicate. Look for it at Italian delis; it keeps for weeks in the fridge. Cut off the hard rind and any heavily peppered outer layer, then slice it into strips about 1 cm (⅜ in) wide and 5 mm (¼ in) thick. Unsmoked pancetta, cut thickly, is the best substitute. Smoked bacon works, but it gives you a different, smoky dish.
Eggs. Yolks give the sauce richness and a golden colour. One whole egg adds a little white, which makes the sauce looser and less likely to set into clumps. Have them at room temperature; cold eggs cool the pasta too much and you lose the heat you need to thicken them.
Pecorino Romano is a hard, salty sheep’s milk cheese. Grate it on the finest side of a box grater or a rasp grater. Coarse shreds melt unevenly and clump. Many cooks in Rome use a mix of pecorino and Parmigiano Reggiano for a milder, nuttier sauce; half and half is a reasonable choice if pure pecorino tastes too sharp to you.
Pepper is the fifth main ingredient here, not just seasoning. Grind it coarsely, or crush whole peppercorns in a mortar. Some cooks toast it briefly in the pork fat first.
Salt. Pecorino and guanciale are both salty, so the pasta water needs less salt than usual: about 1 tablespoon of fine salt in 4 litres (4 quarts) of water. You won’t add salt anywhere else.
Method
- Put the water on. Bring 4 litres (4 quarts) of water to a boil in a large pot and add the salt.
- Render the guanciale. Put the strips in a large, cold frying pan, wide enough to toss the pasta in later. Set it over medium-low heat. Cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the fat has turned translucent and the edges are golden and crisp, but the centres are still a little chewy. Starting in a cold pan lets the fat melt out before the meat browns. Turn off the heat and leave the pork in its fat.
- Make the egg mixture. In a bowl, whisk the yolks, whole egg, pecorino and pepper into a thick paste. It should look like a stiff cream.
- Cook the pasta. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook it 1 minute short of the time on the package. It should still have a firm bite in the centre.
- Loosen the egg mixture. While the pasta cooks, whisk 2–3 tbsp of the hot pasta water into the egg mixture, a spoonful at a time. This warms the eggs a little and thins them so they spread evenly.
- Combine the pasta and pork. Before you drain, scoop out about 360 ml (1 ½ cups) of pasta water and keep it. Drain the pasta, or lift it out with tongs, and add it to the pan of guanciale. Add 60 ml (¼ cup) of pasta water. Turn the heat to medium and toss for 1 minute so the pasta soaks up the fat and finishes cooking.
- Take the pan off the heat. Move it off the burner and let it stand for 30–60 seconds. It should be hot, but no longer sizzling.
- Add the eggs. Pour the egg mixture over the pasta and toss and stir continuously with tongs for 1–2 minutes. Add pasta water a tablespoon or two at a time as you go. The sauce is ready when it has turned from liquid and runny to thick, glossy and creamy, coating each strand. It should flow slowly when you tilt the pan. It thickens as it sits, so leave it slightly looser than you want it.
- Serve immediately. Divide between warm bowls, and finish with more pecorino and pepper.
How to avoid scrambled eggs
Egg yolks start to thicken at around 65°C (150°F) and start to set firm and grainy at around 70°C (158°F). There’s only a narrow window between a silky sauce and scrambled eggs, so control the heat.
- The pan should be off the burner. The heat of the pasta and the pan is enough.
- Keep everything moving. Egg that sits against hot metal sets first.
- Adjust in small steps. If the sauce is thickening fast, add a splash of pasta water to cool and loosen it. If it stays runny after a minute of tossing, put the pan over the lowest heat for 10–15 seconds at a time, tossing all the while, until it thickens.
- The bowl method. If you’re nervous, toss the pasta and guanciale with the eggs in a large heatproof bowl set over the pot of just-simmering water, the way you would melt chocolate. It’s slower but gives you more control.
If the sauce does catch and goes grainy, add 2–3 tbsp of pasta water off the heat and toss hard. Small curds will often smooth out. A fully scrambled sauce can’t be rescued, but it’s still a perfectly good plate of pasta.
Eggs in carbonara are heated, but not reliably cooked to a safe temperature. If you’re cooking for someone pregnant, very young, elderly or with a weakened immune system, use pasteurised eggs.
A note on cream
Cream is not used in Roman carbonara, and the eggs alone give a richer sauce with more flavour. Cream versions are very common outside Italy, though, and you’ll even find them in older Italian cookbooks. If you prefer it, or want some insurance against scrambling, whisk 60 ml (¼ cup) of heavy cream into the egg mixture and reduce the pasta water you add. The sauce will be milder and paler, and much harder to scramble, because the cream dilutes the eggs. Just don’t add garlic, onion or a big pour of cream and then serve it as the Roman version.
Pasta shapes and other swaps
- Pasta: spaghetti is the most common choice in Rome, along with rigatoni and mezze maniche, whose ridges and tubes hold sauce well. Fresh egg pasta is too delicate and soaks up too much of the sauce.
- Pork: pancetta is fine and widely used. With leaner pancetta or bacon, add 1 tbsp olive oil while rendering.
- Cheese: all Parmigiano Reggiano gives a milder, sweeter sauce. Taste before serving, because you may want a pinch of salt.
- Vegetarian: it’s no longer carbonara, but sliced courgettes (zucchini) or mushrooms browned in olive oil and butter work well with the same egg and cheese method.
Leftovers
Carbonara doesn’t reheat well; the eggs keep cooking and turn grainy. Make only as much as you’ll eat. If you do have leftovers, refrigerate them within 2 hours and eat them within 2 days. Reheat gently in a pan over low heat with a few tablespoons of water, tossing all the time, until hot all the way through, and accept that the sauce won’t be silky any more.
To save time, slice the guanciale and grate the cheese up to a day ahead. Keep them covered in the fridge, and take the eggs out 30 minutes before you start.
What to serve with it
Carbonara is rich, so keep the rest of the meal simple. In Rome it would be eaten as a first course, followed by something light. A green salad with a sharp lemon or vinegar dressing, or sautéed greens such as broccoli rabe or spinach with garlic and chilli, is enough to round it out. Coffee and a slice of our classic tiramisu make a good ending. For another Italian dinner that’s worth the effort, try our homemade Margherita pizza dough.
Authentic Italian Carbonara
Ingredients
- 400 g spaghetti, rigatoni, tonnarelli or mezze maniche 14 oz
- 1 tbsp fine sea salt about 18 g, for 4 litres / 4 quarts water
- 150 g guanciale or thick-cut unsmoked pancetta 5 oz, rind removed, cut into 1 cm x 5 mm / ⅜ x ¼ in strips
- 5 large egg yolks at room temperature
- 1 large whole egg at room temperature
- 100 g Pecorino Romano 3 ½ oz, finely grated, about 1 cup, plus extra to serve
- 2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
Instructions
- Bring 4 litres (4 quarts) of water to a boil and add the salt.
- Put the guanciale in a large cold pan over medium-low heat. Cook 8–10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the fat is translucent and the edges are golden and crisp. Turn off the heat.
- Whisk the yolks, whole egg, pecorino and pepper into a thick paste.
- Cook the pasta 1 minute less than the package time. Whisk 2–3 tbsp hot pasta water into the egg mixture.
- Reserve 360 ml (1 ½ cups) pasta water, then drain. Add the pasta to the guanciale with 60 ml (¼ cup) pasta water and toss over medium heat for 1 minute.
- Take the pan off the heat and wait 30–60 seconds until it stops sizzling.
- Add the egg mixture and toss constantly for 1–2 minutes, adding pasta water a little at a time, until the sauce is thick, glossy and creamy. Leave it slightly loose; it thickens as it sits.
- Serve immediately with extra pecorino and pepper.
Notes
Photo: Maurijn Pach on Pexels
