Italian · Main · Medium
Spaghetti Carbonara
Rome's most famous pasta. Silky egg and Pecorino sauce clinging to every strand, studded with crisp guanciale. No cream, ever.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Spaghetti Carbonara, in 5 ideas
- Guanciale beats pancetta, but pancetta beats bacon. Guanciale is cured pork cheek with a deeper flavor. Pancetta is a fine substitute. Bacon works in a pinch but brings a smoky note that is not traditional.
- Room temperature eggs mix smoother. Cold eggs straight from the fridge are more likely to seize when they hit the hot pasta. Set them out when you start the water.
- Grate the cheese finely. A microplane or the small holes of a box grater give you cheese that melts into the sauce instead of clumping.
- Save more pasta water than you think you need. Two cups minimum. You can always add more, and you cannot go back for it once the pasta is drained.
- Work fast at the end. Have your bowls ready, your cheese grated, your pepper cracked. The last two minutes move quickly and the dish is best the second it comes together.
What you need
Ingredients
- 12 oz spaghetti
- 5 oz guanciale, cut into small strips (pancetta works too)
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano, plus more to serve
- 2 tsp coarsely cracked black pepper
- Salt for the pasta water
How to make it
Directions
- Bring a large pot of well salted water to a rolling boil. The water should taste like the sea.
- While the water heats, put the guanciale in a cold large skillet and set it over medium heat. Let the fat render slowly, stirring now and then, until the pieces are crisp and golden, about 8 minutes. Take the pan off the heat.
- In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the Pecorino and the black pepper until it forms a thick paste. Set aside.
- Cook the spaghetti until just shy of al dente, about a minute less than the package says. Before draining, scoop out at least 2 cups of the starchy pasta water. This is liquid gold.
- Toss the drained pasta into the skillet with the guanciale. The pan should be warm but not screaming hot. If it is too hot, the eggs will scramble.
- Pour the egg and cheese mixture over the pasta, tossing quickly and constantly. Add splashes of the hot pasta water a little at a time, tossing, until the sauce turns glossy and coats every strand. It should look creamy, not eggy.
- Serve immediately in warm bowls with extra Pecorino and another crack of pepper. Carbonara waits for no one.
Temperature is everything. The pan must be warm enough to melt the cheese but cool enough that the eggs stay silky. If you are nervous, toss the pasta and sauce in a large warm bowl instead of the skillet.