Recipes › Italian cuisine · Italy

Spaghetti alla carbonara

Four ingredients, zero margin for error

For 2 peopleDifficulty 3/5With the steps in parallel, instead of one at a time.

Ingredients

• Spaghetti200 g
• Guanciale120 g
• Egg yolks3
• Pecorino romano60 g
• Black pepperto taste

The plan

1. 01Put the water onminutes 0–10
2. 02Cut the guancialeminutes 0–5
3. 03Mix yolks and pecorinominutes 5–9
4. 05Cook the pastaminutes 10–19
5. 04Crisp the guancialeminutes 11–19
6. 06Mantecaturaminutes 19–22

hands busykeep an eyewaiting

The plan is for one cook, with one pan and two pots: PREP lines the steps up side by side.

The steps

1. 01 Put the water on waiting · 10min · minutes 0–10

   Big pot, plenty of water, lid on.

   • A litre of water for every hundred grams of pasta.
   • Don't salt it yet: salted water takes longer to come to the boil.
   • The lid halves the time.

   Cue. A rolling boil that moves the whole surface, not little bubbles at the edges.

2. 02 Cut the guanciale hands-on · 5min · minutes 0–5

   Strips half a centimetre thick.

   • Remove the rind but don't throw it away: whole in the pan, it perfumes the fat.
   • Thick, not thin: they need to stay soft inside and crisp outside.
   • Guanciale, not pancetta: it's fattier, and that fat is half the sauce.
   • It looks like a lot because it is: it loses nearly half its weight as it renders.

   Cue. Every piece the same size, so they cook evenly.

3. 03 Mix yolks and pecorino hands-on · 4min · minutes 5–9

   Yolks, finely grated pecorino, freshly ground pepper.

   • One yolk per person plus one: that last one belongs to the pan.
   • Yolks only. The white is water and proteins that scramble sooner.
   • Grate it as finely as you can or the cream stays grainy.
   • A spoonful of the guanciale fat makes the cream more stable.
   • The egg stays nearly raw: use pasteurised eggs for children, the elderly, or during pregnancy.

   Cue. A thick cream that coats the back of the spoon.

4. 05 Cook the pasta waiting · 9min · minutes 10–19

   Salt the water, drop the pasta, set aside a ladle of the cooking water.

   • Go light on the salt: pecorino and guanciale are salty enough already.
   • Set the cooking water aside before you drain. Always.
   • Drain a minute before the time on the packet: it finishes in the cream.

   Cue. Properly al dente: bite a strand and the core is still pale.

5. 04 Crisp the guanciale keep an eye · 8min · minutes 11–19

   Cold pan, medium-low heat, no added fat.

   • Start with a cold pan: the fat renders instead of burning.
   • No oil — the guanciale releases its own, and that's what you'll need later.
   • If it sizzles hard, turn the heat down right away.

   Cue. Clear fat and amber edges. If they turn brown you've gone too far.

6. 06 Mantecatura hands-on · 3min · minutes 19–22

   Heat off. Pasta into the guanciale first, then the cream with the pan off the hob.

   • The yolk starts to set at 63 °C and is solid at 70 °C: below 65 °C you're safe.
   • Move the pan off the heat and wait for the sizzling to stop.
   • If you're afraid of blowing it, tip everything into a steel bowl: there's no heat underneath.
   • Cooking water a little at a time, until it turns glossy.
   • Toss the pasta by moving the pan, don't stir with a spoon.

   Cue. Cream that slides across the plate. If it dries out, more cooking water.

Allergens

• Gluten
• Eggs
• Milk

They come from the recipe's list. The label on what you buy is what counts.

Where the numbers come from

This recipe compares 7 sources. The quantities are the median of the versions, not one person’s opinion: where the sources disagree, the majority wins. Here they all are.

• Gambero Rosso — le 10 regole dei cuochi romani
• Luciano Monosilio — Identità Golose
• Cookist
• SiCucina
• Cuoco Goloso
• Luca Cesari — storia della carbonara, 1960-2000
• CREA — tabelle di composizione degli alimenti

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