Italian Carbonara Pasta Recipe
Several years ago, I shared with you a photo of carbo pasta and it generated a lot of interest and envy. Today, I got the urge and thought it was the right time to share with you the real Italian Carbonara Pasta Recipe!
What do you think about it?
I was able to perfect this recipe with Gianni, an Italian friend of mine who has to make it every time we visit them because he knows we love it.
So I took the opportunity to watch him carefully each time to master this traditional recipe from Rome. He even uses a kitchen thermometer to make sure that the eggs don’t go above a certain temperature (which I admit I don’t do…).
Some time ago, I shared with you my traditional French carbo recipe but I must admit that it has nothing to do with the real Italian carbonara recipe… No onion, no garlic and even less cream…, but hey…
Italian Carbonara Pasta Recipe
What ingredients do you need to make the real pasta carbonara recipe?
- long pasta, like spaghetti, linguine or bucatini (homemade if you want, it is easy and so good)
- fresh eggs, lots of them… whole eggs + egg yolks
- finely grated parmesan and/or pecorino cheese (I like to mix the two)
- guanciale (you can sometimes find it at the butcher, or in Italian grocery stores/caterers) or diced pancetta (not the rolled up kind you find in slices)
- lots of good quality freshly ground pepper
- the pasta cooking water, think about it carefully when you drain the pasta because often we go a little too fast and miss this crucial step to bind the sauce well.
So you don’t need oil, cream, onion, garlic or… 😉
How to cook guanciale?
For guanciale, the cooking is very important and special. It is not difficult, but if you do not want something rubbery, you must do it properly. After removing the rind (the hard part), make small lardons into sticks.
Place them in a cold, fat-free pan and heat them gently for a few minutes so that the fat from the guanciale is slowly released.
When the fat is translucent, turn up the heat to grill them for a few minutes. Trust me, it’s a treat and totally addictive 😉
How to make the Italian carbonara sauce?
To prepare the carbonara sauce, you need 1 egg yolk per person and 1 whole egg for the 4-person dish.
Mix the eggs with the finely grated cheese and heat gently in a bain-marie for about ten minutes, stirring constantly.
Finally, add some of the pasta cooking water to soften the sauce, but I will explain all this in detail in my recipe, a little further down…
One last tip for a successful homemade carbonara
You need to heat your plates! This will allow the carbo sauce to stay warm longer and not set. It will stay smooth throughout the tasting process.
To do this, I place my plates in a large baking dish and pour hot water over them to cover them. You can also put them in your oven at 40°C, but be careful not to pop them either.
If you love pasta recipes as much as I do, then here are some ideas that should inspire you:
Italian Carbonara Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 liters water
- 30 g coarse salt
- 400 g long pasta spaghetti or linguine or bucatini
- 4 egg yolks from small extra fresh eggs
- 1 extra fresh whole egg
- 150 g Guanciale without the rind
- 70 g freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 70 g freshly grated pecorino cheese
- sea salt
- freshly ground pepper of good quality
Instructions
- In a large pot, bring 4 liters of water to a boil and salt with coarse salt.
- Meanwhile, cut the guanciale into sticks about half a centimetre thick and place in a cold pan without fat. Heat over medium-low heat so that the fat melts gently.
- Place the pasta in boiling water and cook for the time indicated on your package. Stir occasionally to prevent the pasta from sticking.
- Meanwhile, mix the egg yolks and whole egg in a large bowl and add half or two-thirds of the grated cheese. Add a little salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Take a look at the guanciale, the fat should partially melt and become translucent. The flesh should become more red and crispy on the surface.
- Keep one cup of cooking water from the pasta.Drain the pasta quickly and pour it into the large pot of still wet eggs. Mix quickly and vigorously so that the pasta is well coated with the sauce and the eggs do not overcook: the sauce should remain fluid and light.If it seems too dense, add a spoonful of cooking water at a time until the desired texture is reached.
- Add the roasted guanciale and mix again.
- Serve hot on your warm plates with grated cheese (pecorino-parmesan) and plenty of pepper.Enjoy!
Notes
This will allow the carbo sauce to stay warm longer and not set. It will stay smooth throughout the tasting.
To do this, I place my plates in a large baking dish and pour hot water over them to cover them. You can also put them in your oven at 40°C, but be careful not to pop them either.
If you ever make my Italian Carbonara Pasta recipe and you like it, don’t hesitate to tag me on Instagram @tangerinezest so I can see the result and share it myself…
Finally, just to let you know I am French and I translate my recipes, be indulgent if you see syntax errors and do not hesitate to leave me a comment so I can correct it. I hope you will like my recipes and enjoy your visit to my food blog!
I was prepared to get angry at this recipe as almost everyone screws up Carbonara but, this is a really solid (and authentic) recipe. Good job!
One tweak that will boost the deliciousness of this is to reserve some of the melted guanciale fat and add that into the egg/cheese mixture.
Why would you be angry at this recipe?
I totally agree about the guanciale fat, it’s delicious!
Thank you for your comment!