Pasta Carbonara
One of the most iconic, yet simple, pasta dishes of Rome!
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 1 whole egg
- 2 egg yolks (plus extra yolks for serving if desired)
- 1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano (about 60g) (a combo pf pecorino romano and parmigiano reggiano is the best)
- freshly ground black pepper
- 200 g spaghetti (about 1/2 package)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 1 1/2 cup chopped pancetta (about 150g)
Instructions
- Put the egg and yolks into a bowl and add in half (about 1/4 cup) of the Parmesan and season with pepper, combine well with fork and set aside.
- Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water (if you need to know, rule of thumb is 10g salt to every litre of water - the pasta water should taste like the sea) until al dente.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil; slice the garlic clove in half and add it to the pan, leaving it in to flavour the oil.
- Stir in the pancetta, then cook for 4 minutes, or until it starts to crisp up.
- Working quickly, dump the hot drained (always reserve some water to finish the dish) spaghetti into the skillet with the pancetta. Dribble a bit of the reserved cooking water into the beaten eggs and whisk quickly. This will help to cook the egg gently, rather than scrambling it. Toss well, adding more cooking water incrementally, tossing as everything magically creates a velvety sauce that coats each strand until it’s lovely and glossy.
- Serve with a grating of Parmesan and an extra grinding of pepper