Recipes · Main dishes
Spaghetti Carbonara
AI-written · not yet kitchen-tested
A real carbonara needs no cream: the sauce is made of egg yolks, cheese, pepper and the fat from the bacon, and it is only tossed with the hot pasta away from the heat. That keeps it creamy instead of scrambled.
This recipe was written with AI assistance and has not yet been kitchen-tested. Check quantities and times as you cook, and follow safe core temperatures for meat, poultry, fish and eggs.
Ingredients
- 400 g (14 oz) spaghetti
- 150 g (5.3 oz) guanciale or bacon cut into strips
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 whole egg
- 80 g (3/4 cup) Pecorino Romano or Parmesan, finely grated
- 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- salt for the pasta water
Method
- Bring plenty of water (4 liters, about 4 quarts) to a boil and salt it generously. Cut the bacon into strips.
- Render the bacon slowly in a large cold pan with no added fat over low to medium heat for 8 minutes until crisp. Take the pan off the heat.
- Whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, cheese and pepper in a bowl to a thick cream.
- Cook the spaghetti 1 minute less than the package directions say. Before draining, scoop out a cup of the pasta water.
- Add the spaghetti to the bacon in the pan, keeping the pan off the heat. Add the egg cream and toss quickly, gradually adding some pasta water until the sauce coats the spaghetti creamily.
- Serve immediately on warmed plates, sprinkled with pepper and a little cheese.
Tip: If the pan is still on the stove while you mix, the egg will scramble. The heat of the pasta is enough to bind the sauce.
Tip: The egg is heated only by residual heat and is not cooked through. For that reason the dish is not suitable for pregnant women, small children and immunocompromised people.