Spaghetti Carbonara: the Authentic Recipe for Italy’s Traditional Main Course!

Carbonara is an iconic main course of the Roman cuisine, like other regional cornerstones such as gricia and amatriciana, made with a quick, creamy and tasty sauce made with egg yolks, guanciale and pecorino romano cheese. Easy to prepare, as long as the few key steps are follows scrupulously, it is perfect for a family lunch or an informal dinner with friends, even organized at the last minute.

What is Real Carbonara Made Of?

For a result faithful to tradition, the carbonara must be prepared with exactly the three ingredients indicated, without the addition of bacon, extra virgin olive oil, onion or anything else. On the pasta shape, however, there are no rules, but only schools of thought. Lovers of long spaghetti will never give up a good plate of spaghetti, to be rolled up with cream and enjoyed at the tip of a fork. Supporters of the short version will prefer, on the other hand, the half tortiglioni, the mezze maniche or the rigatoni, ideal for capturing the pieces of sizzling guanciale in a single bite. We opted for spaghetti and, during the cooking time, we dedicated ourselves to the seasoning by browning the guanciale in strips on the heat until it became crunchy, and then using the fat released by the guanciale to flavor the egg cream, obtained by beating with the tines of a fork the egg yolks with the grated pecorino romano cheese.

The Golden Rule of Cooking Carbonara

For a perfect carbonara, the egg yolk and pecorino romano cheese mixture should be added to the pan with the pasta, drained al dente, and the guanciale, strictly raw and away from the stove, so that it remains creamy and does not become a sort of scrambled egg.

Carbonara's History and Fun Facts

With rather uncertain origins, it seems that carbonara was made for the first time in 1944, during the Second World War, in a trattoria in Vicolo della Scrofa in Rome. The American soldiers, before entering the Lazio capital, passed through Abruzzo and Ciociaria, where they found smoked guanciale and guanciale, which had a similar flavor to bacon, a cured meat traditionally used for the classic American savory breakfast. From these ingredients, combined with the creativity of a Roman chef, the first recipe for spaghetti carbonara was born, made with eggs, guanciale and cheese, to which powdered milk was also added, to make the sauce creamier. A carbonara without pepper, therefore, an ingredient that was probably too expensive at the time.

According to another theory, however, carbonara would be the evolution of an ancient dish: "cacio e ova", that is, cheese and eggs, a dish prepared by the carbonari when they went into the woods to make charcoal. It would then become the carbonara known during the Second World War, just when the soldiers asked Roman cooks to add guanciale, similar to their bacon and which they usually ate with eggs.

Why Don't Italians Use Cream in Carbonara?

Carbonara, a quintessential dish in Italian cuisine, owes its fame to its rich history, simplicity, and the depth of flavor achieved with just a few high-quality ingredients. Italians don't use cream in carbonara because the authentic recipe relies on the eggs and cheese to create its signature silky sauce. Adding cream is seen as unnecessary and deviates from the traditional Roman roots of the dish. The skillful balance of eggs and cheese, melted by the heat of the pasta, forms a creamy emulsion that coats the spaghetti perfectly without the need for cream, embodying the Italian principle of culinary elegance through simplicity.

Tips and Variations

– The fat from the cured meat, in addition to pasteurizing the egg together with the heat of the freshly drained pasta, will serve to make the cream shiny and velvety during the creaming phase.

– For an impeccable result, for 4 people, 5 egg yolks should be considered: one for every 80-90 grams of pasta, plus an additional one, so-called "for the pan".

– When purchasing, choose pecorino romano cheese aged for more than 12 months and a good guanciale, preferably from Amatrice, aged for at least 6 months.

– If you don't like the taste of pecorino romano cheese, you can add half parmesan or you can replace it entirely with the latter, even if purists of the dish will turn up their nose a bit here.

– To make the pasta more fragrant, you can sprinkle it with ground peppercorns, previously toasted in a non-stick pan: this way it will dry on the heat and release all its aroma.

– For a chef's touch, you can mix the ingredients in a bain-marie, in a steel bowl placed over the pan where you have cooked the pasta, until the mixture reaches around 65°C: the optimal temperature for pasteurizing the egg, without it turning into an omelette.

– You can try your hands at many variations of this classic recipe: baked carbonara in the oven, a seafood version, or try the types enriched with seasonal vegetables, such as artichokes, eggplants or pumpkin.

Find out how to prepare carbonara by following the step-by-step procedure and advice.

How to Make Carbonara

Break the eggs, separate the whites from the yolks and collect the latter in a bowl, then beat them with the tines of a fork.

Add the grated pecorino.

Spice with a generous grind of pepper.

At the end you will have to obtain a thick and homogeneous cream.

Cut the guanciale into strips and let it brown in a non-stick pan without adding fat.

When it is golden and crunchy, remove the guanciale with a slotted spoon and pat it dry with a sheet of absorbent kitchen paper.

Add a couple of spoons of fat released by the cooked guanciale to the egg yolk cream and mix with a spoon, then remove the excess.

Pour the spaghetti into the same pan, boiled al dente in lightly salted boiling water, and sauté them briefly on the heat with a ladle of cooking water; then turn off the heat, add the egg yolk and pecorino romano cheese cream and the crispy guanciale, and mix carefully: if necessary, at this stage, you can add a little pasta cooking water, but be careful not to exceed the quantities so as to not make the preparation too liquid.

Distribute the carbonara on individual plates, complete with a handful of grated pecorino romano cheese and a sprinkling of ground pepper, bring to the table and serve. Enjoy!