Spaghetti Carbonara

A few ingredients, when combined properly, magically turn into the most delicious creamy pasta dish. And believe it or not, Spaghetti Carbonara contains no cream.

The fat from diced pancetta combines with the starchy pasta water, egg and Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese to create this creamy sauce. Good quality ingredients are the key to success here. Fresh eggs and real Italian cheese are mandatory. No exceptions. That dry grainy fake parmesan ish stuff won’t cut it.

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I attempted to make this years ago and I was really worried about making sure the egg was cooked. So I added the egg to the hot pan and cooked it and cooked it, resulting in a nice scrambled egg and bacon pasta. Now, I do love breakfast for dinner but it wasn’t what I had in mind. And it certainly wasn’t the creamy Spaghetti Carbonara I was expecting.

How to make Spaghetti Carbonara

With a bit of practice I’ve mastered the technique which is really simple actually. You just have to trust that the egg won’t be raw. But you HAVE to remove the pan from the heat before you add it. The residual heat will cook the egg. And since you’re adding boiling hot pasta water to the pan, that’s all the heat you need to safely cook the sauce.

It’s a good idea to take your eggs out of the fridge first. Eggs mix up better when at room temperature, although to be on the safe side don’t leave them out too long. They don’t actually refrigerate eggs in Europe but there’s a whole lot of science around the difference between the way they’re raised and processed here in comparison to overseas so let’s not test that theory. You can learn lots about egg farming in Ontario by visiting Get Cracking.

In the time it takes to cook the pasta to a perfect al dente doneness, you’ll have everything prepped and ready to toss together. The amount of pasta in this recipe is slightly more than the recommended serving size indicated on most packages. But let’s be honest, this Spaghetti Carbonara is so good you’ll eat more than you should. Don’t be tempted to add even more pasta though or you want have enough creamy sauce.

You may want to go easy on the salt in your pasta cooking water. Usually you would salt your water liberally when you’re cooking pasta because most of the salt goes down the drain. But in this case, the pancetta and cheese are already quite salty and you’re adding some pasta water so don’t over do it. Follow the directions on your package to cook the spaghetti to al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, crack your eggs into a bowl and whisk them well. Then grate the cheese and add it to the egg. Pecorino Romano is the preferred hard Italian cheese to make Spaghetti Carbonara. It’s made with sheeps milk and has a slightly stronger flavour than Parmesan which is made from cows milk. You may even detect a bit of spicy or peppery flavour which works perfectly in this dish. But a good quality Parmesan would be an excellent substitute.

Chop up a big handful of fresh parsley, then peel a big garlic clove and give it a smash with the side of a knife. You’re going to add the garlic to the fat while the pancetta is cooking but keep it in one piece so you can remove it before it starts burning. I like to do this instead of adding chopped garlic because it can burn easily and will taste bitter.

You can buy pancetta already diced or in slices at the deli counter. Pancetta shrinks as it cooks just like bacon. You want fairly small pieces though so you get some in every bite! Add them to a large cold skillet, then turn the heat to medium and let the fat render out of the meat. You want it to cook until browning but not too dark.

What’s the difference between bacon and pancetta?

If you’re dying to try Spaghetti Carbonara right away and don’t have any pancetta, you can substitute bacon. It’s a great way to practice. Both pancetta and bacon are made from pork belly but bacon is smoked and pancetta is not. Pancetta comes in rolls, see below. If you use thick cut bacon it’s a good substitute.

When the spaghetti is al dente, use tongs to add it to the pan. Don’t drain the pasta. You need the starchy cooking water for the sauce. Mix the spaghetti around well in the pan to ensure it’s well coated with the fat from the pancetta. Now remove the pan from the heat. Don’t just turn off the burner, move the pan off the stovetop. This is the most important step.

Pour the egg mixture into the pan and stir it well. Add a small ladle of the cooking water and toss around with the pasta. The hot water will start cooking the egg mixture. Add another small ladle or so and toss. You’ll see a beautiful creamy sauce developing. This isn’t a saucy pasta dish, you just want enough to coat the spaghetti well without being soupy. You might need a little more pasta water if the spaghetti is really soaking it up. The sauce will thicken slightly as it cools. And taste at this point to see if you need to add some salt. Some pancetta is saltier than others so make sure to taste the sauce before serving in case it needs more salt.

Add most of the chopped parsley and toss well. Fresh cracked black pepper and a bit more fresh parsley and cheese are all you need to finish this simple but spectacular Spaghetti Carbonara.

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