Spaghetti Alla Carbonara, Traditional Recipe
The spaghetti carbonara is a typical dish of Italian cuisine, specifically in Lazio, the capital of our region. Although various hypotheses have been formulated regarding the origin of its name, the most common has to do with the black color of the pepper. Black pepper is thought to be the same color as charcoal and, therefore, it is as if charcoal is added to the dish.
Although today there are a large number of recipes for spaghetti alla carbonara , the majority deviate a lot from the original version. In the original recipe, in fact, we do not find cream, garlic or onion. Below we propose the traditional recipe that boasts the guanciale as its main ingredient.
Spaghetti alla carbonara
Ingredients (for 2 people)
- water
- 2 medium eggs
- Salt and black pepper
- Spaghetti (250 g)
- Olive oil (just enough)
- Grated pecorino (75 g)
- Parmesan cheese (75 g)
- Fresh parsley for decoration (to taste)
Preparation
- Pour some olive oil into a pan and heat over medium heat.
- Put a pot of water to boil and add one or two tablespoons of salt, of your choice.
- When the water has reached the boiling point, add the pasta. Let it cook until it is al dente. It is better to mix it every now and then so that it does not stick.
- Meanwhile, remove the rind from the bacon and cut it into cubes.
- Sauté the bacon in a pan for 2 or 3 minutes and set it aside.
- Take the eggs and separate the yolk from the white. For spaghetti carbonara only the beaten yolk is used. Mix the egg yolks with the cheese to obtain a cream. Be careful, however, that it does not congeal.
- Drain the spaghetti and keep half a cup of cooking water.
- Add the bacon to the spaghetti and mix to mix the ingredients.
- Pour a little cooking water and the egg yolks with the cheese, mixing everything again.
- As a finishing touch, grind some black pepper. The more pepper we add, the more original the flavor will be.
The Hispano-American variant
- Bacon (100 g)
- 2 medium eggs
- Cream (60 ml)
- Spaghetti (250 g)
- Grated Parmesan cheese (45 g)
- Olive oil (just enough)
- Salt and ground black pepper
Preparation
- Just like in the previous recipe, you need to cook the spaghetti. Remember to mix them while cooking to prevent them from sticking.
- Sauté the bacon in plenty of olive oil for about 2 or 3 minutes.
- Beat the whole eggs, then both the yolk and the egg white, add the cream and let it rest.
- Drain the spaghetti and, when ready to serve them on the plate, add the eggs and the Parmesan cheese. In this way the three ingredients will mix and create a more or less thick cream.
Final tips
In case you do not have the two varieties of cheeses mentioned in the traditional recipe, namely Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino, you can also use only Parmesan and any other semi-aged cheese. In this way, the dish will not suffer drastic changes in terms of flavor.
On the other hand, some people add eggs, so it is not mandatory to remove the egg white. Everyone will follow one technique or the other according to their personal taste. The important thing is to try to understand how to mix the ingredients, especially since they are dairy products together with raw eggs, which could make the dish very heavy to digest. Also remember that to avoid food poisoning, spaghetti carbonara must be eaten the same day they are prepared.
Finally, keep in mind that the traditional recipe for spaghetti alla carbonara involves the use of bacon, not pancetta, although this has recently become a much more common ingredient. In addition, it is not recommended to use the already sliced bacon that can be found in the supermarket. While it tastes good, it doesn’t have the same density as home-cut bacon cubes.
