From Lazio. What is Carbonara? If You ask an Englishman they’ll probably tell you it’s a dish prepared with cream and ham! Nooooooo!!!!! 
More crimes against Italian food have been commited under the name of Carbonara than any other dish.
Serves 6. 
- 600 grams spaghetti or bucatini
- 120 grams guanciale or pancetta — diced or cut into strips
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 medium eggs (very fresh)
- 100 grams mixed Parmesan and pecorino Romano (or all pecorino) – grated
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- Cook the guanciale in a pan along with the whole peeled garlic clove and a little oil, until the guanciale is well coloured. Discard the garlic.
- Beat the eggs in a bowl with a little of the cheese and a pinch of salt.
- Cook the pasta until al dente, drain and add to the pan with the guanciale.
- Lower the heat to a minimum and add the egg mixture. Mix well. Be careful not to let the eggs set.
- Remove from the heat and add the rest of the cheese. Mix again and serve immediately.
Here’s a quote from Kate/Susan over at Kate, Katie, Susan, Sue who cooked the recipe as part of an Italian evening.
“That carbonara was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten, certainly the best pasta dish I’ve ever eaten. I would rank it above lasagna in my estimation.”
And this one’s from Cui at Equipoised.
The bottom line… carbonara typically feels too heavy and sickening after a while because of the addition of cream (an American adulteration). The egg way produces a much lighter, more palatable dish. And it was really the best carbonara I’ve ever had, ever. I tend to serially order carbonara at Italian restaurants because it is by far my favourite pasta, and I’ve had a lot of carbonara, but I feel like I can’t have it with cream any more after trying this.
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You did not specify dry or fresh pasta. Of course you can use either, but one needs to know which you mean to understand how much you are calling for. My guess is you mean fresh given the quantities, but even so, your recipe is on the light side in terms of quantities of egg, cheese, and pancetta compared to many other authentic carbonara recipes (in particular the quantity of egg seems to vary quite a bit). I don’t mean to imply there is anything wrong with this recipe, I’m just making note of the variation out there. I would expect most Italians make it by eye and the balance of these ingredients is adapted to each person’s taste.
Garlic is often not included in cabonara and I would have thought it was an acceptable optional addition and not a standard part of the classic recipe, but who am I to argue with the Acadamia Italiana della Cucina.The flavor this adds may be why it has less of the other ingredients. I would also note that the amount of cheese needed is affected by the kind of cheese used. You may want less with a really sharp pecorino, more with a younger milder pecorino or with parmigiana.
Also, I think the addition of a little pasta water is very helpful to getting the consistency of this sauce right. But that is true of so many classic Italian pasta sauces, that perhaps the Academy just assumes it goes without mention. More a matter of good technique than a part of the recipe. But it is a helpful tip for those less steeped in Italian cooking traditions.
Fantastic Carbonara. We had an Italian night at our house and this was one of the dishes we made. It was fantastic. Making it again tonight with the kids. Best Carbonara I’ve had.
Thanks a lot! I once had carbonara in a small restaurant in Venice, the chef whipped it up in minutes and it was heaven! Since then I’ve tried to recreate it myself but never came close. Of course, I was using recipies with cream, even though I did think there was little or no cream in the Venetian version. Now I know for sure! If this works, you’re my hero!
Also in Roma I think they just go to the cafe and order pepe? Like the cracked pepper is the star here and maybe that is just a different dish but in any case the pepper is huge here too and I would not use any of these smoky black peppers or smokehouse or whatever they are. Just good old fashioned black pepper is the star of this show. Does anyone have a brand of just top of the line Romano cheese for me to look for? I have noticed such a wide variety of quality with the ones I have available in my local Whole Foods or other supermarkets. I do drive in to the city and I can get to an Italian Market if anyone knows of one to suggest? I have to say that most people I serve like it mixed 50/50 with parmesan. Some folks have to gradually make changes in taste and what tastes good to them.
Thank you for the save with this recipe!! I thought I could go on memory however it has been longer than I thought…. Wow I tried to stay as true to the recipe as possible and even have my own farm fresh egg source as I live on rural Camano Island in WA state. Had to drive a bit to get my hands on some decent panchetta and the romano and parmesan were not the best I’ve ever had access to. Yes it was Reggiano however the quality of those wheels is so different depending on how long it has been aged, the feed of the cows at the time, etc… So using ingredients that were sort of last minute and not making my own pasta to save time and out of sheer laziness I have to say I still had a great result!! Now, I hate everything I make and I am never happy about anything if I can help it. Others in the party that night were more than pleased with my cooking and everyone made comments on simple food and how they want to get back to that kind of ideal. My younger guest who normally gets his food from a freezer and microwave asked me if I could teach him how to make this sort of dish and then he asked me about my travels, which he usually has no interest in!! So on that note I really considered it a hit and kind of thought I was hip for about 10 minutes until everyone started talking about rap music and I faded back to my humble self.
I have to say my real motivation other than pleasing guests was watching Meryl Streep and Jack Nickelson in a comedy in the 1980′s where she feeds him spagetti carbonara in bed after their first date and he says he never wants spagetti any other way when they get married!! She comes into the bedroom with this great big Italian pottery bowl full of carbonara and it was all so quasi yuppi and such a “thirty something” moment. I was way too young at the time to really get it, but it made a huge impression on me. I always thought that when I moved out on my own that I was going to have my own bowl of spagetti moment. Alas it took many more years than I thought and here I was on an island and far from the city where I thought it would happen!!
The whole egg thing really is true. It totally makes the dish and the fresher the eggs the better. I remember in Italy they made a big deal about the egg yolk and that was the dish. No distractions here just fresh ingredients made to a perfection we do not get so easily anymore in food or life. The whole thing about simple in Italian and all other regional foods is so true. We really can not escape this concept anymore and yes I think by now we have all done the fusion thing and the raw thing and the nouvelle thing and somehow good old Italian dishes keep right on truckin.
I plan to go back to this recipe and I might even get all wild and try adding a few elements when I’ve got them fresh from the garden. It might just be some red onions added to the panchetta when cooking or whatever. Maybe squash blossoms when in season. I’ve seen it served with fresh peas. Back to simple for now and I was so happy and you really saved my dinner party and let me focus on the friends I invited because the food was so easy. Maybe that is part of the reason everyone seemed to linger and have such a good time. For once I was not a total mess running back and forth from the grill to the kitchen to the table. Isn’t that what sharing good food is all about is having a good time and enjoy the people you have invited over and in my case most of them have just driven about 50 miles to get here!!
Thank you for an experience that I am sure to continue on with, and one that I will not soon forget!! This whole blogging thing I am late to the table but it is catchy and I plan to tune in to yours more often now!! See google works!! La Dolce Vita!!
How shameful! I always thought it should have cream…trying this tonight! I found it useful with carbonara to make sure you warm your pasta bowls as it goes cold quickly!
This looks delicious! Will definitely give your recipe a try as I love, love, love Carbonara.
I recently did a little experimenting and came up with a great recipe for Carbonara Made with Farm Fresh Eggs, Topped with Pork Belly
http://wp.me/puWta-cj
Give it a try if you like!
Great blog by the way.
yum, i am going to try this recipe today!
Absoloutly starving just got in from college needed something quick and easy, found this recipe couldnt believe the simplicity of it so i thought i may try this. 10 mins cooking time 0 prep, probably the best carbonara i have every tasted and i dont have that heavy sickly feeling i get from most recipes with cream. Mate you should teach cooking to college kids i give this 10/10 and will easily become one of my most cooked meals
thank you so much.
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This is how I’ve always made my carbonara, I didn’t know there was any other way and why mess with a good thing. This is Italian comfort food, at least for me. Any changes or additions would just not be the same dish. One helpful hint, have someone pour the egg/cheese mixture over the pasta while you toss the pasta with two forks or spoons. This eliminates the need to add anything to break up the perfectly balanced sauce. Thanks for posting the recipe.
I have some very minor quibbles with this recipe …
First, I like to add a single egg yolk to the two whole eggs. For me, this adds a richness that is absolutely vital in such a simple recipe.
Also, it’s important to reserve some of the cooking water from the pasta. If the final mix is too dry and sticky, you add some HOT leftover cooking water to cream it up.
Finally, plenty of fresh-cracked black pepper is a must for me. I dunno if it’s the reason the dish is called “carbonara” or not. I just know it makes it more awesome!
This is a fantastic recipe, I studied in Rome for 6 months and had actually beautifully authentic Rigatoni alla Carbonara every chance I could. Now that I’m back in the states trying to find a recipe that actually tastes like the Italian dish has been murder until now. Really great help, thanks so much!
(Also a side tip to make the dish more Italian, try using a robust/dry white wine to get the consistency of the sauce that you’re looking for instead of using extra olive oil, it really makes a difference!)
Thanks for posting the real deal here. I hope it catches on since, speaking as a long time resident of Rome, a true carbonara is truly delicious. The versions you find abroad are a different dish altogether. I remember once my partner and I were traveling in Greece and, homesick for pasta, ordered a “carbonara” that was oozing with cream, ham, peas and all that stuff. The pasta, needless to say, was totally overcooked. What a disappointment.
Carbonara may be simple but it is not easy to master. Getting just the right balance of ingredients and seasonings, and achieving the right texture to the sauce can be pretty tricky. It takes practice. If the results are disappointing, it is probably because the cook hasn’t yet mastered the technique. (Although one adjective that I had never heard attached to carbonara before is ‘staid’!)
By the way, there is a different dish called fettuccine alla papalina that is made with cream, ham and peas, very much like the adulterated forms of carbonara you will find outside Italy. I wonder if there hasn’t been some sort of confusion between the two dishes?
I have to say after having had a really good authentic serving of that great dish, which mostly was inhaled after the first bite, was wonderful here in Rome. My partner had always said of those ‘carbonara’ versions in the states that said blah..blah..’cream’….it as over and I was not allowed to order. After having been here and had it, I NOW know why I was not allowed to order back in the states. This recipe will be framed and hung in the kitchen so I will always remember how good ‘real’ Italian food is. The hardest part of eating here in Italy….taking the plane flight back to the USA.
Thanks for the recipe and I am now looking for a Gnudi recipe like that for which I suffered the best food and wine coma I have ever had in my life which was food from the Trattoria I’Parione in Florence, Italy this past Friday (17/9/2010).
Thanks very much Rachel. I’m glad you are enjoying it here. As you’ve found out, it’s quite difficult to eat badly
Ciao
C
Truthfully, there are better pasta recipes out there. This is an authentic one, just try to fix a carbonara for Italians with cream, chicken, peas, etc. that Americans have added here and there in order to jazz up the flavor. This one is relatively staid, if you like plain pasta this one won’t disappoint. You definitely need the waterfall of pepper to add flavor. Overall, if you’re looking for a great pasta recipe, especially one for a dinner party, go with one with a nice pesto, marinara, or white sauce. That’s what Americans are familiar with–that explosion of flavor. I made this recipe with just parmesan (I don’t like romano), egg yolks and wheat pasta. I used less than half the pasta called for and half the cheese and I still added pasta water to break up the pasta. Also, it may be a good idea to wait a couple minutes instead of timing everything so the pasta goes in right when the pancetta is done and then immediately have the egg/cheese mixture ready, because I didn’t let the eggs sit but I still got a little bit of scrambled egg.
Hmmm… Well ash… I don’t really understand why you left your comment here. The recipe you describe has very little connection to the one listed above, or indeed to anything you could find in Italy. Why would you leave such a comment on a post which is very clearly labled “Authentic recipe”. This is not a site for Americans who like “Jazz up the flavor”. What in the world is white sauce? Do not accuse the recipe of being bland (which I assume is what you mean by “staid”) until you’ve actually cooked it. By all means eat whatever you want, but please don’t imply you know how to prepare a classic Roman dish better than the Italians.
Touché, or I should say Tocca! You could not have more appropriately described my reaction. As an American who loves authentic recipes, I cannot eat most “Pasta dishes” at most “Italian restaurants” here in the USA. Carbonara is at the top of my list as the most misunderstood recipe, though I include anyone who thinks “Spaghetti and Meatballs” is an Italian dish. There should be a new genre of restaurant… call it “Jersey Immigrant”, “Italian-American”, whatever… there should be not confusion between the cuisines of Italy and the US but unfortunately we get very little right.
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Thanks Demetrio. I still haven’t found out what he meant by white sauce! Lol Besciamella do you think?
Djkrysa
PERFECT ANSWER!
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Hi, I’ve ended up with a confusion with carbonara, some italian friends advice to use only the egg yolk, without whites. I’ve tried it and like it, it’s really creamy but then another friend saw me cooking it like that and said it was better toi use the whites and a bit of chillie.. What do you think?
Mixing on everything said to me I ended up making it with a bit of chillie, only egg yolk, olive oil, a bit of parsley and parmesan..
Hi Chio
Although I posted the recipe as ‘Authentic’ there may be as many authentic recipes as there are cooks in Italy
I’ve seen recipes that use only the yolks and I’m sure it will be fine. The same for adding parsley. You don’t mention pancetta. It would make a big difference if you left it out. Bacon is a good substitute.
I have never heard of chillie being used, but some people use LOTS of freshly ground black pepper to give it a kick. Some people say this is how the dish got it’s name as the pepper resembles coal dust. I’m not sure of the truth of that, but it’s a nice story
Your version sounds like it would be delicious, I may try it with chilli sometime.
Thanks for dropping in.
DJ
Amen to your exclamation points! Cream???? In carbonara! Heavens to Betsy! Had wonderful success with this one.
It’s one of my favourites too
This is definitly the way to make Carbonara. I love it!!
I’m English and I make carbonara just like you! It’s one of my favourite recipes. Quick, easy and delicious!
Ohhhhh fab recipe – found you on food chat – you are going to give me another fab recipe when you go to Bari – you lucky thing! Thank you – cant wait!!
Nice! I’m going to throw out my cream for this! Thanks for sharing!
Hmmm… I’d be thrown out of the secret agents’ club if I gave too much info away. ‘M’ would never forgive me
Oh and another thing …………. you should do an ‘all about me’ page on here! England, Italy, Czech Republic …………… you should tell all:)
Ha! Rat you shall be known as from this day forth:)
Thanks for the link. Not sure why I couldn’t find it!
Hi Ella
Here’s the link.
http://culinariaitalia.wordpress.com/2008/02/14/nonna-stellas-pesto/
No need to apologise
I thought it was funny. BTW Krysa means ‘rat’ in Czech (Pron. chris-ah) and is a very bad pun on my real name (Chris) A hangover from my days in the Czech republic.
Cheers
Djkrysa
Sorry to hijack this recipe – but I have an emergency!!!! I can’t find your pesto recipe …………………….. Has it disappeared or am I just being more dense than usual
Apologies too for the gender error on the BBC:-\
Thanks Janet
I’m enjoying your blog too. Especially the Swiss recipes as my mother was from Graubunden.
Thanks, I now learn something. I love authentic recipes and have to try it one day. If I need to fine an Italian recipe, I will definitely come to your blog. : )