Although there are many origin stories the most reliable one tells of the encounter between the ingredients available to American soldiers and the imagination of a Roman chef. The result was the prototype of spaghetti carbonara: eggs, bacon (later guanciale) and cheese. Gradually the recipe has evolved to the one we all know today and can be enjoyed everywhere, throughout Italy and abroad, in the countless versions: with or without pepper, with one yolk per person or the addition of at least one whole egg, with guanciale.
Many folks use pancetta in its place, but bacon should never be used
The carbonara sauce is prepared in a matter of minutes. Just think that you only need spiced guanciale cut into strips, a cream based on egg yolks and freshly grated Pecorino. I also like to add some Parmesan. I believe that Parmesan has a more refined taste and therefore more suitable for today’s palates
The recipe is really simple but there are a few things you need to get right to make this work. The first thing is that the water you boil the spaghetti in needs to be well salted. I usually add about a tablespoon of salt for every liter of water. The minimum quantity of water should be 3.5 liters.
Once it comes to a boil, add the pasta and stir it for the first thirty seconds or so to ensure the strands don’t stick together. You can make the sauce while the spaghetti is boiling.
For the Guanciale, I like to chop it into relatively large pieces as this allows me to fry them until they’re browned and crisp on the outside, while leaving some of the fat on the inside intact.
The sauce is simply yolk eggs, pecorino and parmesan and black pepper whisked together.
When the pasta is done boiling, it’s important to drain it and toss it with the Guanciale first. This lowers the temperature of both the spaghetti and the meat so that you don’t end up with a bowl of spaghetti coated in scrambled eggs. Now you just have to toss the pasta and Guanciale together with the eggs and cheese until each strand of noodle is coated in the heavenly sauce.
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STEPS
1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil (you want about
tablespoon of salt per 5 cups of water).
2. Boil the spaghetti according to the package directions
3. While the pasta is boiling, saute the guanciale in the olive oil
until it’s browned on the outside. Remove the pan from the heat.
4. When the pasta is done, drain it and toss it together with the
guanciale.
5. Plate the pasta, and top with some extra Parmesan and black
pepper.