Spaghetti Carbonara

Ingredients

• 50 g Guanciale (Cleaned and cut into strips; reserve some cooked pieces for topping.)
• 50 g Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino Romano blend (A blend of the two cheeses; transcript does not specify the proportion.)
• 2 Egg yolks
• Black pepper (A lot; use a thick, generous amount. Add more to finish.)
• Salt (A little, not too much; the guanciale is salty.)
• Spaghetti (Amount not stated; use spaghetti.)
• Pasta cooking water (Reserve some to loosen the sauce; amount not stated.)

Steps

1. 1

   Clean the guanciale, then slice it into strips. Measure about 50 g per person.

2. 2

   For each person, measure 50 g of the Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino Romano blend, and separate two egg yolks.

3. 3

   Grind a generous, thick amount of black pepper into the cheese-and-yolk mixture. Mix until thick, then set it aside.

4. 4

   Heat a pan over medium heat. Add the guanciale without oil and fry it in its own fat until crisp, like French fries.

5. 5

   Remove the crisp guanciale from the pan, leaving its fat behind. Reserve some guanciale for the topping.

6. 6

   Spoon a little of the guanciale fat into the cheese-and-yolk mixture and stir it in.

7. 7

   Bring water to a boil for the spaghetti. Add a little salt, keeping it modest because the guanciale is salty, then cook the spaghetti. Save some pasta water before draining.

8. 8

   While the pasta cooks, warm the bowl containing the cheese-and-egg mixture so it is not cold.

9. 9

   Transfer the cooked spaghetti to the pan with the guanciale fat and toss to coat.

10. 10

    Add a little pasta water to the spaghetti in the pan and mix.

11. 11

    Add some of the cooked guanciale to the pasta, keeping the reserved pieces for the finish.

12. 12

    Transfer the pasta to the warmed bowl with the cheese-and-egg mixture and mix. Do not add the cheese-and-egg mixture to the hot pan, which the creator warns can scramble the eggs.

13. 13

    If the mixture is dry, add some reserved pasta water and mix until the sauce looks creamy and reaches the desired texture.

14. 14

    Finish with more Pecorino Romano, black pepper, and the reserved guanciale. Serve.

Notes

The transcript gives guanciale and cheese quantities per person but does not specify the amount of spaghetti, salt, or pasta water, nor an exact cooking time for the pasta. It does not state a proportion for the Parmigiano-Reggiano/Pecorino blend. The transcript mentions adding more Pecorino Romano at the end; its amount is unspecified.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• pasta
• Italian
• traditional
• stovetop