SPAGHETTI CARBONARA are a first course from Lazio, and more specifically Rome, made with simple ingredients but an intense flavor. Traditionally the pasta shape used is spaghetti, although other types like linguine, penne and, in particular, rigatoni, also work well.
It is a fact that carbonara is not mentioned in Ada Boni’s classic Roman cookbook, published in 1930. In fact, the dish is recalled for the first time in the period immediately following the liberation of Rome in 1944, when bacon brought by Anglo-American troops appeared in Roman markets. This would explain why in carbonara, unlike other sauces such as amatriciana, pancetta and guanciale are often reported as equivalent ingredients.
According to this theory, it would seem that during World War II, the American soldiers who arrived in Italy, combining the ingredients they were more familiar with and could find — namely eggs, pancetta and spaghetti — when preparing their meals, gave Italian cooks the idea for the actual recipe, which would be fully developed only later. Supporting this hypothesis is the aforementioned fact that the recipe was unknown in Rome before the war.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4 servings
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 13 oz spaghetti
- 9 oz guanciale (cured pork cheek)
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 cup (approx. 3.5 oz) Pecorino Romano (or 2/3 cup (approx. 2.5 oz) Pecorino and 1/3 cup (approx. 1 oz) Parmigiano)
- to taste salt
- to taste black pepper
Steps
To prepare SPAGHETTI CARBONARA, first put a pot of water on the heat and bring it to a boil. Cook the spaghetti in boiling water with little salt. The pasta should be cooked al dente. Meanwhile, cut the guanciale into strips or, if you prefer, into cubes.
Heat a nonstick pan and, without adding oil, sauté the guanciale until its fat becomes translucent and it turns slightly crispy.
When cooked, turn off the heat and set aside.
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks as if making an omelet, and add the Pecorino (or Pecorino and Parmigiano), a generous grating of black pepper and 3 tablespoons of the guanciale fat. Mix everything until creamy and set aside.
When the water reaches a boil, salt it (not too much since the guanciale and Pecorino are already quite salty), add the spaghetti and cook them al dente.
Drain the pasta, reserving a ladleful of the cooking water that will be used for the sauce, and return the pasta to the pan with the guanciale. Finish cooking by adding a little of the reserved cooking water and, with the heat off, add the egg cream. Stir with a wooden spoon until the pasta becomes creamy.
Serve your creamy and succulent Spaghetti Carbonara hot.
The final touch is a bit of freshly grated Pecorino and some black pepper on top.
