Originating from Rome, pasta carbonara combines egg, hard cheese and cured meat to make a deliciously simple yet fulfilling dish.
Ingredients:
500g Spaghetti
4 egg yolks
1 egg
150g Pecorino Romano
50g Parmigiano Reggiano
250g Guanciale
Black pepper
Separate
egg whites from yolks and place egg white in the bowl of an electric mixer (make
sure the bowl is super clean and dry) and whisk on medium speed until soft peaks
form.
Chop the guanciale in cubes, approximately 5 mm x 10 mm
Fry the guanciale with low to
medium flame in a big pan for about 15-20 minutes until the guanciale is nicely
roasted and has released all the fat.
In the meantime, finely grate the
pecorino and the parmigiano, then set aside.
Beat the eggs in a bowl
Then, add the cheese and a
generous amount of freshly grated black pepper. The egg sauce should be pretty
thick.
Once the guanciale is ready,
separate it from the fat. Keep the fat in the pan to finish cooking the pasta,
and set aside the guanciale.
When the water is boiling, add
the pasta and cook it. Important: cook it 2 minutes less than necessary, as you
will finish it in the pan.
Cook
the spaghetti for another 2 - 3 minutes on high fire in the pan, and add some
cooking water as needed, but not too much (usually a couple of ladles max). You
should see a little bit of “starchy” sauce forming on the bottom of the pan.
When the pasta is ready, take a big bowl at room temperature and place the pasta inside. Add the egg sauce and mix rapidly. Add some of the cooking water of the pasta – usually half/one ladle – to give it a nice creamy consistency, then add the guanciale.
Serve onto plates and add some grated pecorino and pepper to garnish.