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You may be quite proud of your homemade spaghetti carbonara recipe, created with your special touch. But we have to ask: is it really a carbonara?
According to the
, the original recipe for “spaghetti or pasta carbonara” is one of the most misinterpreted recipes outside of Italy.
To cook this dish the ‘right’ way according to the purists, you must avoid all temptation to tamper with the genius behind the original Roman recipe.
Sounds harsh? Fear not. Here are some easy-to-follow rules (and permitted modifications) for making a true Lazio carbonara, the “right” way.
Dinner?
Spaghetti alla carbonaraMust-have ingredients
The
that there are only five ingredients: pasta, pork cheek, eggs, cheese and pepper. That’s it.
A real carbonara does not contain onion, garlic, or cream.
Which pasta do you use?
Traditionally,
should always be paired with pasta that has a shape bearing a large ratio of surface area to volume, to allow the raw egg to be properly cooked. That’s why long and thin types of pasta work perfectly.
Spaghetti is the first choice but you can also use bucatini, linguine or fettuccine.
Always cook the pasta in salted boiling water – remember that the water needs to be as salty as the sea.
How about the cheese?
Should you add Parmigiano-Reggiano,Grana Padana or Roman pecorino? If you want to play it safe, go for the choice bearing the same origins as the dish.
In this case, Roman pecorino wins out. However, there may be some room for forgiveness if you use a mix of hard Italian cheeses, including pecorino.
Let the guanciale render slowly and don't throw away the fat. Source: Jono Fleming
Bacon v guanciale
This dish is 'supposed' to be made with guanciale, an Italian cured meat prepared from pork cheeks. That’s why
(the name comes from the Italian word for cheek) is used as it’s a speciality of the Lazio region, where the dish originates. However, if you can’t find guanciale, pancetta is the next best substitute – not bacon.
When you’re frying the guanciale, avoid using olive oil. Start the pan from cold and let it render. The idea is to fry the meat in its own fat. That way, the rendered fat will add flavour to your sauce.
Egg yolks or whole eggs?
If you ask Silvia Colloca – host of the SBS show,
– you should only use egg yolks when making carbonara.
“A humble ingredient like the egg becomes this incredible, creamy, binding sauce that is quite magical, but it’s also a little bit tricky,” Colloca says in episode six of the third series. “The thing about egg when it touches the heat is that it coagulates really quickly. It cooks. It scrambles. It becomes frittata and we don’t want that.
“[So] my way of doing carbonara that works every single time is to separate the eggs and just use the yolks.”
Other recipes call for using a mix of whole eggs. So a good midpoint is to use a
Whichever method you choose, the effect should remain traditional. You want the eggs to just start to curdle, to give your dish creaminess. Egg whites will provide texture but too much could make the eggs curdle. Meanwhile, egg yolks help to bind the pork fat to the sauce. This also helps to enhance the creaminess.
So a good rule to follow is to include one egg yolk per person and one egg white per four people.
Order is important
Have your cold beaten eggs, cheese and pepper combination ready to go. Then add it to pasta that has already been cooked al dente and that’s just been quickly mixed with guanciale (and its juices) in the pan. Turn the heat off. Pour the egg-cheese-pepper mixture into the pan with a bit of pasta water. Stir to combine.
If your sauce is too runny, add more cheese. But if you notice that it’s too thick, add a few tablespoons – one at a time – of pasta water until you land at the right consistency.
Spaghetti alla carbonara Source: Jono Fleming
A final word to your guests
“The fundamental truth about carbonara is that you eat it straight away [once it’s cooked],” says Colloca.
“It cannot sit. It’s not forgiving. So if you’re making this for your friends and they’re fiddling about grabbing the wine and enjoying some fresh air on the balcony, you sit them down.
“You make sure they’re sitting down when you cook the pasta because as it’s ready it’s got to be eaten.”
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Cook like an Italian
Mini tiramisuSpaghetti alla carbonara
Homemade savoiardi
Saltimbocca alla Romana con salvia fritta
Penne alla Norma (penne Norma style with eggplant)
Custard-filled cream puff (bigne alla crema)
FAQs
Must-have ingredients
that there are only five ingredients: pasta, pork cheek, eggs, cheese and pepper. That's it. A real carbonara does not contain onion, garlic, or cream.
Why not bacon in carbonara? ›
If you want your carbonara to be as authentic as possible, you should be using guanciale, not bacon or pancetta. Guanciale is cured pork cheek. It looks a little like bacon, but isn't smoked, so its flavor leans more towards pancetta. Rich, unctuous and packed with umami, guanciale is what real carbonara is made from.
Which ingredient should never be used in traditional carbonara? ›
What not to put in Spaghetti Carbonara? Don't put garlic, cream, milk or butter. It is not needed. It is fine if you want to make a dish with those ingredients, but if you want to learn how to make this dish correctly, use only pecorino, eggs/egg yolks, black pepper, guanciale, and pasta water.
What are the biggest carbonara mistakes? ›
15 Mistakes That Are Ruining Your Carbonara
- Adding your eggs while the pasta is still on the heat. Anton27/Shutterstock. ...
- Not coating your pasta completely. ...
- Using bacon instead of guanciale. ...
- Not whisking your eggs enough. ...
- Using parmesan instead of pecorino. ...
- Not grinding your own pepper. ...
- Using cold eggs. ...
- Adding extra ingredients.
The golden rule of cooking carbonara is to never cook the sauce over direct heat once the eggs are added.
What is the trick about carbonara sauce? ›
Whisk Like You Mean It
You're using more egg yolks than whites here, which is what makes carbonara so rich and luxurious. But there's still two eggs-worth of whites in there. Whisking your eggs so that the whites are completely incorporated into the yolks will give your sauce a more uniform texture.
What is a good substitute for bacon in carbonara? ›
substitute the bacon for pancetta, prosciutto, or the. classic guanciale!
Why shouldn't you put cream in carbonara? ›
Why do restaurants make Carbonara sauce with cream? It should be just eggs, cheese, black pepper and pancetta. But then some people think that won't hit the palette of people from elsewhere. So it gets “adjusted” to local taste and the cream gets added.
What is the closest substitute to pancetta? ›
What can I use instead of pancetta? Bacon is the best substitute for adding flavour to soups, stews, pasta and salads. For charcuterie or wrapping meats or poultry, prosciutto is your next best option.
What is the difference between American and Italian carbonara? ›
The Italian version doesn't use cream or ham. It is made with pancetta (pork belly meat that is salt cured, also referred to as Italian bacon), Parmigiano Reggiano or pecorino romano cheese, eggs, and black pepper—called the basics. The pork is fried in fat, usually olive oil.
Why It Works. A sauce of mostly yolks has a richer, silkier, tighter texture than one made with only whole eggs. A mixture of Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano-Reggiano delivers that essential Roman flavor without making the pasta taste excessively salty or sharp.
Do Italians use cream in carbonara? ›
Should carbonara have cream? Typically carbonara sauce is only made of eggs, bacon, parmesan, olive oil, seasoning, and sometimes, vegetables. As for cream, Italians will tell you that is a big no no.
How to stop carbonara from scrambling? ›
To avoid the dreaded scramble, the goal is to not let your eggs get too hot too quickly. Rather than add your eggs straight into your carbonara pan, crack them into a different bowl with the Pecorino. From there, you have a few options for how to combine the mixture with your pasta.
Is the egg still raw in carbonara? ›
Spaghetti alla carbonara is a traditional Italian dish, which the sauce made of raw egg yolks is heated using only the heat of cooked pasta.
What thickens carbonara? ›
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).
How to make sure carbonara doesn't scramble? ›
This might be the most important step in making carbonara. Before adding the eggs and cheese to the pasta, you MUST turn off the heat. If you don't, you could overcook your sauce and turn it into scrambled eggs. The residual heat from the hot noodles and pasta water will cook the egg yolks without scrambling them.
What makes a carbonara? ›
Carbonara (Italian: [karboˈnaːra]) is a pasta dish made with fatty cured pork, eggs, hard cheese, salt, and black pepper. It is typical of the Lazio region of Italy. The dish took its modern form and name in the middle of the 20th century. The cheese is usually pecorino romano.
How many eggs should I put in my carbonara? ›
I like to use a ratio of 1 whole egg to 3 egg yolks because it balances the richness. If you are looking to avoid using raw eggs, I would recommend making my Cacio e Pepe recipe – this is another one of the four classic Roman pastas but requires only three ingredients (cheese, pepper, and pasta).
