Classic Spaghetti Carbonara Recipes

SPAGHETTI CARBONARA

Steps:

• Place a large pot of lightly salted water (no more than 1 tablespoon salt) over high heat, and bring to a boil. Fill a large bowl with hot water for serving, and set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and pecorino and Parmesan. Season with a pinch of salt and generous black pepper.
• Set the water to boil. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add the pork, and sauté until the fat just renders, on the edge of crispness but not hard. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Add pasta to the water and boil until a bit firmer than al dente. Just before pasta is ready, reheat guanciale in skillet, if needed. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then drain pasta and add to the skillet over low heat. Stir for a minute or so.
• Empty serving bowl of hot water. Dry it and add hot pasta mixture. Stir in cheese mixture, adding some reserved pasta water if needed for creaminess. Serve immediately, dressing it with a bit of additional grated pecorino and pepper.

TRADITIONAL ITALIAN SPAGHETTI CARBONARA

Steps:

• Cut the guanciale into small pieces then simmer in a frying pan over medium heat for about 2 or 3 minutes. When ready, turn off the heat, cover with a lid and set aside.
• Whisk grated Pecorino Romano with eggs. Add a little bit of ground black pepper. Stir quickly until you get a creamy sauce and set aside.
• Cook the spaghetti al dente in plenty of salted water, following the cooking time you find on the pasta packaging.
• With the help of a spaghetti spoon, drain when they are ready. Then put them in the frying pan, OVER HIGH HEAT, to season them properly with the fat of the guanciale.
• When the spaghetti and guanciale are sizzling in the pan, turn off the heat. Now quickly add the eggs and pecorino cream and stir. Pay attention to the consistency, which must be creamy, but not fluid. If you notice that your spaghetti carbonara is too liquid, add some grated pecorino. On the other hand, if you see that they are too sticky and dense, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of cooking water.
• With the help of a ladle and a fork, create a pasta nest and place it on a plate. Add guanciale (the one left in the pan), freshly grounded black pepper and grated pecorino Romano cheese to taste.

SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA: THE TRADITIONAL ITALIAN RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add guanciale (see Cook's Note). Cook, turning occasionally, until evenly browned and crispy, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain on paper towels.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until tender yet firm to the bite, about 9 minutes. Drain and return to the pot. Let cool, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
• Whisk eggs, half of the Pecorino Romano cheese, and some black pepper in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Pour egg mixture over pasta, stirring quickly, until creamy and slightly cooled. Stir in guanciale. Top with remaining Pecorino Romano cheese and more black pepper.

SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA

Steps:

• Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking to ensure that the spaghetti will be hot and ready when the sauce is finished; it is very important that the pasta is hot when adding the egg mixture, so that the heat of the pasta cooks the raw eggs in the sauce.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender yet firm (as they say in Italian "al dente.") Drain the pasta well, reserving 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water to use in the sauce if you wish.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium flame. Add the pancetta and saute for about 3 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the fat is rendered. Toss the garlic into the fat and saute for less than 1 minute to soften.
• Add the hot, drained spaghetti to the pan and toss for 2 minutes to coat the strands in the bacon fat. Beat the eggs and Parmesan together in a mixing bowl, stirring well to prevent lumps. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the egg/cheese mixture into the pasta, whisking quickly until the eggs thicken, but do not scramble (this is done off the heat to ensure this does not happen.) Thin out the sauce with a bit of the reserved pasta water, until it reaches desired consistency. Season the carbonara with several turns of freshly ground black pepper and taste for salt. Mound the spaghetti carbonara into warm serving bowls and garnish with chopped parsley. Pass more cheese around the table.

CLASSIC CARBONARA WITH PANCETTA

Steps:

• Whisk together the eggs, cream, and 1 cup of Parmesan cheese in a bowl. Blend thoroughly, and set aside.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook until al dente, or for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta, then return it to the pot (off of the heat), and cover to keep warm.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet; add the onion and cook until transparent, about 8 minutes. Remove onion from the skillet; place in a bowl, and cover to keep warm.
• Using the same skillet, cook the pancetta over medium heat until browned, tossing with nutmeg. Drain on paper towels.
• Combine the pasta, onion, pancetta, pine nuts, salt, and pepper in the same large skillet over low heat. Slowly stir in the egg-cream mixture, tossing gently so the eggs don't scramble. Cook until just heated through. Remove from heat and toss with parsley and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

AUTHENTIC PASTA CARBONARA

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, cook pasta according to package directions for al dente. Drain pasta, reserving pasta water; keep pasta warm. In same pot, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, stirring occasionally. Add peas; cook until just heated through., Add pasta to pot; toss to combine. Stir in remaining ingredients, adding enough reserved pasta water for sauce to reach desired consistency. If desired, serve with additional cheese.

ULTIMATE SPAGHETTI CARBONARA RECIPE

Steps:

• Put a large saucepan of water on to boil.
• Finely chop the 100g pancetta, having first removed any rind. Finely grate 50g pecorino cheese and 50g parmesan and mix them together.
• Beat the 3 large eggs in a medium bowl and season with a little freshly grated black pepper. Set everything aside.
• Add 1 tsp salt to the boiling water, add 350g spaghetti and when the water comes back to the boil, cook at a constant simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until al dente (just cooked).
• Squash 2 peeled plump garlic cloves with the blade of a knife, just to bruise it.
• While the spaghetti is cooking, fry the pancetta with the garlic. Drop 50g unsalted butter into a large frying pan or wok and, as soon as the butter has melted, tip in the pancetta and garlic.
• Leave to cook on a medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the pancetta is golden and crisp. The garlic has now imparted its flavour, so take it out with a slotted spoon and discard.
• Keep the heat under the pancetta on low. When the pasta is ready, lift it from the water with a pasta fork or tongs and put it in the frying pan with the pancetta. Don't worry if a little water drops in the pan as well (you want this to happen) and don't throw the pasta water away yet.
• Mix most of the cheese in with the eggs, keeping a small handful back for sprinkling over later.
• Take the pan of spaghetti and pancetta off the heat. Now quickly pour in the eggs and cheese. Using the tongs or a long fork, lift up the spaghetti so it mixes easily with the egg mixture, which thickens but doesn't scramble, and everything is coated.
• Add extra pasta cooking water to keep it saucy (several tablespoons should do it). You don't want it wet, just moist. Season with a little salt, if needed.
• Use a long-pronged fork to twist the pasta on to the serving plate or bowl. Serve immediately with a little sprinkling of the remaining cheese and a grating of black pepper. If the dish does get a little dry before serving, splash in some more hot pasta water and the glossy sauciness will be revived.

CLASSIC SPAGHETTI CARBONARA

Steps:

• In a large saute pan, over medium heat, cook the bacon until crispy, about 6 minutes. Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels. Pour off all of the oil except for 3 tablespoons. Add the garlic. Season with black pepper. Saute for 30 seconds. Add the crispy bacon and the pasta. Saute for 1 minute. Season the eggs with salt. Remove the pan from the heat and add the eggs, whisking quickly until the eggs thicken, but do not scramble. Add the cheese and re-season with salt and pepper. Mound into serving bowls and garnish with parsley.

TRADITIONAL SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add salt. Add pasta; cook until al dente. Drain. While pasta cooks, cook pancetta in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 6 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to a bowl.
• Reduce heat to medium-low. Add oil to skillet; heat until hot but not smoking. Add garlic; cook until golden, about 3 minutes. Lightly beat eggs in a large serving bowl; set aside. Add pasta to skillet; toss. Transfer to eggs. Add cheeses and pancetta; toss. Season with pepper.