Spaghetti Carbonara - Recipe Diaries (2024)

FAQs

What is the golden rule of cooking a carbonara? ›

The golden rule to silky carbonara is to whisk your egg whites so that they're completely incorporated with the egg yolks. This will create a smooth, velvety sauce. As like any pasta dish, including carbonara, cook the pasta perfectly al dente so that it's soft but still firm, with some bite.

Whisk Like You Mean It

You're using more egg yolks than whites here, which is what makes carbonara so rich and luxurious. But there's still two eggs-worth of whites in there. Whisking your eggs so that the whites are completely incorporated into the yolks will give your sauce a more uniform texture.

Should carbonara have cream? Typically carbonara sauce is only made of eggs, bacon, parmesan, olive oil, seasoning, and sometimes, vegetables. As for cream, Italians will tell you that is a big no no.

Finely grate 50g pecorino cheese and 50g parmesan and mix them together. Beat the 3 large eggs in a medium bowl and season with a little freshly grated black pepper.

1. Adding your eggs while the pasta is still on the heat. This is one of the most common mistakes when making carbonara. It is very easy to end up with pasta a la scrambled eggs instead.

I personally prefer using only the yolks to adding the whole egg because it is creamier and smoother. Moreover, the temperature of the sauce could make the white eggs set where your carbonara would end up like pasta with scrambled eggs.

The creaminess comes from adding a little pasta water at the end. A carbonara has egg yolk, pecorino romano, guanciale and black pepper. If you like you can mix equal parts Parmigiani Reggiano and Pecorino Romana. The creaminess comes from adding a little pasta water at the end.

A mixture of Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano-Reggiano delivers that essential Roman flavor without making the pasta taste excessively salty or sharp. Using a large mixing bowl and setting it over the boiling pasta water to create a makeshift double boiler helps prevent you from accidentally scrambling the eggs.

Modern spaghetti carbonara is a twist on the classic and while it is a little different from the original, the most important rule remains, IT IS MADE WITH EGGS AND ABSOLUTELY NO CREAM!

The use of thermal processing is the most effective method for Salmonella inactivation in preparations containing eggs. Consequently, according to regulatory agencies, it is generally mandatory that these preparations must be completely cooked to a temperature of at least 70 °C.

What type of meat is best in carbonara? ›

Carbonara is traditionally made with guanciale, or cured pork jowl, though pancetta is often substituted, and both are fatty, salty and deeply savoury.

What cheese should I use in carbonara? Pecorino Romano, a sharp sheep's milk cheese, can lean salty, especially when combined with cured pork in carbonara, but a 50:50 ratio of Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino Romano hit the ideal mark, balancing sharp, salty, and nutty flavors.

Traditional carbonara doesn't have any cream: it's thickened with fresh-grated cheese and raw egg.

Thick spaghetti, like bucatini, works perfectly for this recipe. My personal favorite is spaghettoni quadrato for any carbonara. However, so many different types of pasta will work for this dish, like rigatoni or even fresh pasta, so don't be afraid to explore these too!

Egg whites will provide texture but too much could make the eggs curdle. Meanwhile, egg yolks help to bind the pork fat to the sauce. This also helps to enhance the creaminess. So a good rule to follow is to include one egg yolk per person and one egg white per four people.

First, though, you want the sauce silky and unctuous, so grate the parmesan super fine. This allows it to melt without too much heat. Then, whisk together the egg yolks and cheese. Next, fold cooked, hot pasta and a splash of hot pasta water into the cheese-egg mix and instantly stir until silky.

A mixture of Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano-Reggiano delivers that essential Roman flavor without making the pasta taste excessively salty or sharp. Using a large mixing bowl and setting it over the boiling pasta water to create a makeshift double boiler helps prevent you from accidentally scrambling the eggs.

This might be the most important step in making carbonara. Before adding the eggs and cheese to the pasta, you MUST turn off the heat. If you don't, you could overcook your sauce and turn it into scrambled eggs. The residual heat from the hot noodles and pasta water will cook the egg yolks without scrambling them.