Indulge in the timeless flavors of Spaghetti alla Carbonara, an iconic Italian dish that captures the essence of simplicity and decadence in every bite. Originating from Rome, this traditional pasta dish has gained worldwide popularity for its rich, creamy sauce that coats perfectly cooked spaghetti, enhanced with the savory smokiness of cured pork jowl (guanciale) or pancetta, the nutty sharpness of Pecorino Romano cheese, and the aromatic touch of freshly cracked black pepper. Embark on a culinary journey to master the authentic Spaghetti alla Carbonara, exploring variations that include the addition of egg yolk for a luscious creaminess and the use of different cured meats. This article offers a comprehensive guide to perfecting this classic dish, ensuring a delightful dining experience that will transport you to the heart of Italy's culinary heritage.
Here are our top 6 tried and tested recipes!
TRADITIONAL ITALIAN SPAGHETTI CARBONARA
Spaghetti Carbonara is one of the most famous Pasta Recipes of Roman Cuisine. It's a simple pasta dish, whose authentic recipe wants only 5 simple ingredients: eggs, guanciale, ground black pepper, grated pecorino romano and spaghetti. This is the traditional recipe for spaghetti carbonara, so you need no other ingredients; DO NOT use garlic, parsley, onion, cream, milk or parmigiano Reggiano. If you read this recipe thoroughly, you will see that there are many Spaghetti Carbonara variants, also here in Italy, but they are...variants of this authentic recipe. Which is very simple and fast to make. The only difficulty is to make sure that the eggs do not cook so much to look like scrumbled eggs or too little to be raw and cold. There are a few tricks to make a perfect carbonara and now we'll let you know.
Provided by Recipes from Italy
Categories pasta recipes
Time 30m
Yield 4
Number Of Ingredients 5
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.
Nutrition Facts : ServingSize 100 g, Calories 379 cal
SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA TRADIZIONALI
Unlike a lot of recipes out there for spaghetti carbonara, this is the true Italian recipe from an Italian! You can't get more authentic than this recipe! Top with extra Pecorino-Romano cheese, salt, and pepper. Note there's no cream, just eggs, and Pecorino Romano cheese is used, not Parmesan.
Provided by Andry008
Categories World Cuisine Recipes European Italian
Time 27m
Yield 4
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir guanciale until crisp, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Whisk egg yolks and egg together in a bowl; add Pecorino-Romano cheese, salt, and pepper and whisk well. Stir in guanciale. Add spaghetti and toss until evenly coated.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 487.7 calories, Carbohydrate 74.8 g, Cholesterol 212.8 mg, Fat 10.8 g, Fiber 3.2 g, Protein 20.7 g, SaturatedFat 3.4 g, Sodium 333.8 mg, Sugar 2.8 g
SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA: THE TRADITIONAL ITALIAN RECIPE
This dish was created in the Lazio region (the area around Rome) in the middle of the 20th century, after World War Two. We don't use cream, milk, garlic, onions or other strange ingredients; we use only guanciale, eggs, pecorino cheese, and lots of black pepper (carbonaro is the Italian for coal miner). This isn't the Italian-American version, it's the real, creamy carbonara and it comes right from Italy, where I live. Buon appetito.
Provided by ivan zeta
Categories World Cuisine Recipes European Italian
Time 30m
Yield 4
Number Of Ingredients 6
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.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 763.7 calories, Carbohydrate 85.1 g, Cholesterol 199.8 mg, Fat 28.4 g, Fiber 3.6 g, Protein 39 g, SaturatedFat 10.1 g, Sodium 1181.6 mg, Sugar 3.4 g
SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA
Spaghetti alla carbonara (or pasta alla carbonara) is a typical Italian dish made with spaghetti, eggs, cheese, and guanciale (bacon).
Provided by Hands Doing Things
Categories Appetizer Main Course
Time 35m
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Break egg yolks and whole eggs into a large bowl.
- Then grate the Parmesan directly on the eggs. Season with salt and pepper.
- Mix and set aside.
- Cut the guanciale into thin strips.
- Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large skillet and, optionally, the butter (only used to enhance the creamy texture of the recipe if desired).
- Place the pan on a medium heat, and when the oil is hot enough, add the guanciale (or pancetta or bacon) strips.
- Lower the heat, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Set aside.
- Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the pack, until al dente. Drain, retaining the cooking water, and immediately place the pasta into the pan containing the bacon.
- Add 2 ladles of the pasta cooking water, mix everything together with kitchen tongs, and cook over medium to high heat until the cooking water has completely evaporated.
- Pour 3 tablespoons of the pasta cooking water into the bowl containing the eggs and Parmesan, and immediately whisk until obtaining a smooth mixture.
- Remove the pan from the heat and, once its contents have cooled, stir in the egg and Parmesan mixture, which will create the typical creaminess of the recipe.
- Mix everything gently with kitchen tongs.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 1103 kcal, Carbohydrate 87 g, Protein 40 g, Fat 65 g, SaturatedFat 29 g, TransFat 1 g, Cholesterol 284 mg, Sodium 1260 mg, Fiber 4 g, Sugar 4 g, ServingSize 1 serving
SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA
Steps:
- Fill a large pot with 6 quarts of water and add the salt. Bring the water to a boil.
- Fry the guanciale in a skillet until crispy; do not drain the fat drippings. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the whole eggs with the Pecorino Romano cheese for 1 minute. Then add the freshly ground black pepper.
- At this point your water should be boiling. Add your pasta and cook it for 8 to 9 minutes or according to the instructions on the box (or if using fresh pasta, cook for 4 to 5 minutes). When the pasta is cooked al dente (chewy and firm), drain the pasta well, add the pasta to the bowl with the mixture of eggs and cheese, mix quickly and then finally add the guanciale with all the fat drippings. Stir quickly for a few more minutes and serve in hot bowls.
- Heap the flour into a pile on a wood or marble countertop. Make a large well or crater in the center, big enough to the hold the eggs like a bowl. Break the eggs in the center and knead for about 10 minutes, pausing after 5 minutes in order to let the dough relax. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. After the time, or you can roll out some sheets with a pasta sheet roller and cutter or cut with a knife.
SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA
For a quick dinner, whip up Tyler Florence's authentic Spaghetti alla Carbonara recipe, a rich tangle of pasta, pancetta and egg, from Food Network.
Provided by Tyler Florence
Categories main-dish
Time 25m
Yield 4 to 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 8
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.
Tips:
- Use high-quality ingredients: The better the ingredients, the better the final dish will be.
- Cook the pasta al dente: This means that the pasta should be cooked but still have a slight bite to it.
- Use a good quality pancetta: Pancetta is the key ingredient in carbonara, so make sure to use a good quality one.
- Don't overcook the eggs: The eggs should be cooked just until they are thickened and creamy.
- Add the cheese at the end: Adding the cheese at the end will help to prevent it from curdling.
- Season to taste: Add salt and pepper to taste, and adjust the amount of cheese as desired.
- Garnish with fresh parsley: Fresh parsley adds a nice pop of color and flavor to the dish.
Conclusion:
Spaghetti alla carbonara is a simple but delicious dish that is perfect for a quick and easy weeknight meal. With just a few simple ingredients, you can create a dish that is sure to please everyone at the table. So next time you're looking for a quick and easy meal, give spaghetti alla carbonara a try.
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