Spaghetti Carbonara

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

The Roman classic built on guanciale, pecorino, eggs and black pepper - no cream, no garlic. The trick is emulsifying the eggs with hot pasta off the heat so they coat the strands in a silky sauce without scrambling.

Prep

10 min

Cook

15 min

Total

25 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •400 g (14 oz) spaghetti
• •200 g (7 oz) guanciale, cured pork cheek, cut into matchsticks; pancetta is an acceptable substitute but less traditional
• •6 whole large egg yolks, plus 1 whole egg, at room temperature
• •80 g (1 cup grated) pecorino romano, finely grated; do not substitute with Parmesan if you want authenticity
• •2 g (1 tsp) freshly ground black pepper, coarsely ground, plus extra to serve
• •20 g (½ cup) fine sea salt, for the pasta water only
• •2 L (8 cups) water, for boiling the pasta

Steps

1. 1 Bring 2 L of water to a rolling boil in a large pot. Add the 20 g of salt - it should taste like mild seawater.
2. 2 While the water heats, render the guanciale: place the matchsticks in a cold skillet (no oil, the fat will release) and set over medium-low heat. Cook slowly for 6-8 minutes until the fat has melted and the pieces are crisp and golden at the edges. Remove from heat and set the guanciale aside on a plate, leaving the rendered fat in the pan.
3. 3 In a heatproof mixing bowl, whisk together the 6 yolks and 1 whole egg. Add the grated pecorino and the black pepper and whisk until you have a thick, homogeneous paste. Set aside. The yolks stay raw until they meet the pasta, so use the freshest eggs you can buy and keep the bowl covered in the refrigerator until the pasta is nearly ready.
4. 4 Drop the spaghetti into the boiling water and cook 1 minute less than the package time for al dente (typically 8-9 minutes). Reserve a generous mug (about 250 ml / 1 cup) of pasta cooking water before draining.
5. 5 Transfer the drained pasta immediately into the skillet with the warm guanciale fat and toss over very low heat for 20-30 seconds so the pasta is coated and slick. Remove the skillet from the heat.
6. 6 Pour the egg-and-cheese mixture over the pasta and toss vigorously with tongs, adding a splash of the reserved pasta water (start with 60 ml / 1/4 cup) to loosen. The residual heat of the pasta should thicken the sauce into a glossy emulsion, not scrambled eggs - if it starts to clump, add more pasta water a tablespoon at a time. Keep the skillet off the heat throughout: the sauce is finished by the heat already in the pasta, so no direct flame ever touches the eggs.
7. 7 Check the sauce: it should be glossy, just thick enough to coat the strands, and no longer slippery or raw-tasting. If the bowl of egg and cheese is still visibly runny under the pasta, return the skillet to the lowest heat for 30 seconds, stirring constantly and lifting the pan off the heat if it starts to tighten, then take it off again. The safe target is the sauce and pasta together reaching at least 71 C (160 F) all the way through, which fully sets the egg. If you have no thermometer, judge by the sauce turning opaque and coating rather than coating thinly; when in doubt, give it another 30 seconds of very gentle heat off and on.
8. 8 For anyone pregnant, elderly, a young child or immunocompromised, there is a simpler fully safe route: whisk the egg and cheese mixture with 60 ml (1/4 cup) of hot pasta water in the bowl before it meets the pasta, then return the drained pasta to the pot off the heat and stir for a full minute until the sauce is thick and opaque throughout.
9. 9 Stir in the crisp guanciale, taste for salt (guanciale and pecorino are usually salty enough that none is needed) and adjust pepper.
10. 10 Serve immediately in warm bowls, topped with extra grated pecorino and another grind of black pepper. Carbonara waits for no one. Do not keep leftovers: raw-egg sauce left standing is best discarded, so cook only what you will eat.