Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Tonight’s dinner is an Italian classic – spaghetti alla carbonara. This dish of few ingredients produces a wonderfully robust meal. Like Pasta all’Amatriciana and Pasta Putannesca, this recipe is about quality ingredients and timing. I used David Leite’s recipe from his blog Leite’s Culinaria. He has an engaging post about the origins of this dish – rumored to have been created by coal miners – so I’ll defer to his research and expertise on that subject. But I will dive into this dish with enthusiasm. Getting the timing right on this recipe is not as hard as you may think if we use a little trick when cooking the noodles. I used a large skillet instead of a stock pot. The resulting pasta water contains much more starch and therefore is better at creating a nice creamy sauce when added to the eggs and cheese. This trick allows me to watch the pasta as the guanciale gets crispy and when done, I can assemble this dish quickly. Take a look at the steps below and see how easy this dish really is. Believe me, you can make this spaghetti alla carbonara yourself!

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Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 12 mins

Total time: 22 mins

Serves: 1

Ingredients

2 oz guanciale, pancetta, or bacon; cut into ¼ inch strips
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
4 oz dry spaghetti
1 egg
2 oz Parmesan cheese, grated; plus ½ oz more for serving
freshly grated black pepper

Instructions

Heat a large skillet over Medium-High heat.
Add 4 - 5 cups of water and bring to a lively simmer.
Add the salt and stir to dissolve.
Add the pasta and using tongs, mix the pasta to keep it from sticking together.
Cook the pasta for 8 - 10 minutes (depending on the package instructions.
In a smaller frying pan or skillet over Medium/Medium-High heat, add the olive oil.
Swirl the olive oil to coat the bottom when shimmering.
Add the meat to the oil.
If using guanciale, add ⅓ cup of water and cover for 3 - 4 minutes or until the steam stops.
Stir the meat regularly to render the fat and crisp it well, approximately another 3 - 4 minutes.
Beat the egg well in a small bowl.
If the pasta is almost done, turn off the burner for the meat.
Otherwise, reduce it to low until the pasta is ready.
When the pasta is ready, turn off the burners and reserve ½ to ¾ cup of pasta water.
Drizzle most of the pasta water into the egg while whisking vigorously.
This action tempers the egg to keep it from curdling when added in the next step.
Drain the pasta and add to the pan with the meat.
Add the cheese and egg mixture while tossing the pasta to coat and create a creamy sauce. If needed, add additional pasta water to loosen the sauce as desired.
Grind black pepper on top and toss to distribute.
Serve with additional black pepper and reserved Parmesan cheese.

Heat a large skillet over Medium-High heat. Add 4 – 5 cups of water and bring to a lively simmer. Add the salt and stir to dissolve.

Add the pasta and using tongs, mix the pasta to keep it from sticking together.

Cook the pasta for 8 – 10 minutes (depending on the package instructions. In a smaller frying pan or skillet over Medium/Medium-High heat, add the olive oil. Swirl the olive oil to coat the bottom when shimmering. Add the meat to the oil.

If using guanciale, add 1/3 cup of water and cover for 3 – 4 minutes or until the steam stops. Stir the meat regularly to render the fat and crisp it well, approximately another 3 – 4 minutes.

Beat the egg well in a small bowl. If the pasta is almost done, turn off the burner for the meat. Otherwise, reduce it to low until the pasta is ready. When the pasta is ready, turn off the burners and reserve 1/2 to 3/4 cup of pasta water.

Drizzle most of the pasta water into the egg while whisking vigorously.

This action tempers the egg to keep it from curdling when added in the next step. Drain the pasta and add to the pan with the meat.

Add the cheese and egg mixture while tossing the pasta to coat and create a creamy sauce. If needed, add additional pasta water to loosen the sauce as desired. Grind black pepper on top and toss to distribute. Serve with additional black pepper and reserved Parmesan cheese.