Spaghetti Carbonara
The classic Roman pasta: silky egg-and-cheese sauce, crisp pork, and black pepper. There's no cream — the creaminess comes from eggs and cheese emulsified with hot pasta water. Timing is everything.
by Culicious Kitchen
Ingredients
- 400 g dried spaghetti
- 200 g guanciale or pancetta
- 4 large eggs
- 80 g Pecorino Romano
- 1 tsp black pepper
- salt
Method
- 1
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and salt it well. While it heats, prepare everything else — carbonara comes together fast at the end.
- 2
In a bowl, whisk the 3 whole eggs plus 1 extra yolk with the grated Pecorino and 1 teaspoon black pepper until it forms a thick paste. Set aside.
- 3
Put the guanciale strips in a cold large skillet, then set it over medium heat. Starting cold renders the fat slowly so the pork crisps without burning. Cook, stirring, until golden and crisp, 6-8 minutes.
- 4
Turn off the heat under the skillet and leave the pork in its rendered fat (this fat is flavor — keep it).
- 5
Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook to al dente, usually 9-11 minutes (check the package).
Cook it your way
Save it to scale servings, run step timers, and send the ingredients to a shopping list that skips what is already in your pantry.