Easiest way to prepare Pasta alla Carbonara

We are not lying if we tell you that pasta alla carbonara is, without a doubt, our favourite. Once you try the ideal version, with the original ingredients, it becomes a very easy dish to prepare, although it requires to have a clear picture of certain things. Our recipe is the result of innumerable tries and different methods to achieve a silky and flavourful sauce, where all the ingredients are perfectly balanced and integrated.

Simple and quick pasta alla carbonara

With just egg, cheese, pepper and guanciale, this traditional dish shows why some classics can’t be beaten. Our recipe will help you achieve a delicious pasta that you and your loved ones will love.

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Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

Total Time 20 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian, Traditional

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

  

• 200 g pasta preferably spaghetti or a kind where the sauce adheres more eassily
• 120 g guanciale
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 45 g Parmigiano Reggiano
• 90 g Pecorino Romano cheese
• pepper to taste
• water to cook the pasta

Instructions

 

• The truth is that this recipe is really quick to prepare, therefore we recommend you have all your ingredients at hand.

  We fill a big pot with abundant water in medium-high heat. This will later be used to boil the pasta.

  Since both the cheese and guanciale are salty, we will not add any salt to this water.

  Whilst the pan is increasing its temperature to reach boiling point, we are going to prepare the rest of ingredients.
  
• An optional step is to heat the pepper for 2-3 min (until fragrant) in a pan at medium heat without oil. As indicated, this is not necessary, but will add some depth to the dish.

  Regardless of weather we have heated the pepper or not, we crush it with a mortar and pestle or a mill.
  
• In a pan, we add the guanciale in small chunks at low-medium heat. It will allow for some of the fat to melt (which will later be incorporated to the sauce).

  Whilst we are continuing with the method, we need to keep an eye on the guanciale and ensure it doesn’t burn adjusting the heat accordingly.
  
• In the meantime, we grate both the pecorino and parmesan cheese and mix them with a spatula.

  The thinner we grate it, the easier it will be to integrate it in the sauce.
  
• In a tall glass we mix the whole eggs, the yolk, the crushed pepper and a bit more than half the grated cheese to get a thick paste.

  This paste, with the pasta water and the guanciale fat will make the sauce.
  
• Once the water is boiling, we add the pasta to the pot.

  In parallel, we incorporate little by little the melted fat from the guanciale that is in the pan to the egg and cheese mixture. We do this in small quantities with the help of a spoon and mixing very well to avoid cooking the egg due to the higher temperatures of the fat.

  We do this until there’s almost no fat in the pan. If it’s easier you can use a strainer to do this process.
  
• When the pasta is halfway through the boiling time, we incorporate some of the water in the pot to the sauce very slowly and mixing well.

  The idea is to achieve a consistency slightly more liquid than what we actually want for the sauce in the end (just a bit more liquid). This is due to the fact once the dish is less hot, the sauce will thicken.

  In our case, we incorporated 3 tablespoons of pasta water.

  We make sure we have mixed everything very well. Our sauce is ready.
  
• Once the pasta is ready, we strain it and incorporate it to the pan with the guanciale at low-medium heat.

  We mix very well so that the pasta absorbs some of the guanciale flavour.
  
• Finally, it comes the moment to add the pasta sauce.

  To do this, it is very important controlling the pan temperature. It shouldn’t be too high so as to avoid the egg cooking too much and becoming an omelette.

  The easiest way to do this right is to remove the pan from the heat and slowly incorporate all the sauce whilst stirring non-stop and ensuring nothing sticks to the bottom.

  Once everything has been mixed well, serve quickly.
  
• And… That’s about it! You can now serve it with the remaining grated cheese on top.

  We hope you like it.
  

Notes

1. If you prefer a more homogeneous sauce, you can use a blender once you have incorporated the pasta water to the mixture.
2. If you can’t find guanciale you could use pancetta and, to a lesser extent, bacon. It will definitely not be the same, but delicious as well.

Keyword carbonara romana, guanciale, parmesan cheese, pasta alla carbonara, pasta dish, pecorino romano, roman pasta, traditional pasta alla carbonara, traditional pasta dish