Spaghetti Carbonara
Servings 4
Prep time
10 minsCook time
35 minsTotal time
45 minsTruthfully, if I had to nominate my last meal on earth, it would be hard to go past carbonara—authentic carbonara, with no cream, just olive oil, garlic and guanciale (pork cheek) rendered down until it becomes saucy. So simple. So good.
Ingredients
Method
- Dice guanciale in roughly ½cm x 1cm pieces. Place peeled garlic cloves on a chopping board and flatten with the back of a knife.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil. Add spaghetti and cook following packet instructions until just al dente.
- Meanwhile, in a large frying pan over medium heat, add guanciale and cook, stirring regularly, until crispy and golden . Add garlic then turn heat down to low and cook for a further 1 minute. Remove pan from heat, discard garlic and set pan aside (retaining the fat that has rendered out of the meat).
- In a large bowl, whisk together about ¾ of the grated cheese, the whole egg, egg yolks and pepper.
- Strain pasta when ready, reserving the cooking water. Allow pasta to cool for 1 minute (if it’s too hot, the pasta could scramble the eggs).
- Meanwhile, whisk ¼ cup of the pasta cooking water into the egg mixture (this will warm the mixture slightly and further lessen the likelihood of the eggs scrambling). Add just-cooled pasta to bowl, along with the crispy guanciale and rendered fat from the frying pan. Toss or stir to combine, moving quickly so the pasta retains its heat and cooks the eggs sufficiently to create a creamy, cheesy sauce.
- Serve immediately, topped with a sprinkle of the remaining grated cheese and a fresh grind of black pepper.
Simon says ...
Adjust the consistency of the sauce if necessary by adding more of the pasta cooking water—the pasta should be coated in a glossy sauce.