Roman Style Carbonara
This is a traditional recipe for the best Roman style carbonara. Only a handful of ingredients are needed, and this is an authentic Roman technique with no cream - creaminess is achieved through emulsifying eggs, cheese, fat, and pasta water rather than dairy.
Ingredients
- 300g pasta (spaghettoni, spaghetti, bucatini, or rigatoni)
- 100g guanciale
- 2 whole eggs and 3 egg yolks
- 150g Pecorino Romano, finely grated
- Freshly ground black pepper (approximately 1/2 tbsp)
Instructions
Remove the hard skin from guanciale, slice lengthwise into 1cm strips, then cut into 1cm cubes.
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
Place guanciale in a cold pan and cook over gentle heat until crisp, allowing fat to render slowly.
In a bowl, beat eggs and yolks together; stir in grated Pecorino and generous black pepper.
Remove crisp guanciale with a slotted spoon; reserve the fat in the pan.
Cook pasta one minute under package instructions (just before al dente).
Transfer pasta directly to the pan with guanciale fat, reserving pasta water.
Add 60-80ml pasta water to the egg mixture; stir until smooth and liquid.
Remove pan from heat, pour in egg mixture, stir constantly until slightly thickened.
Return to low heat, stirring continuously until achieving a crema consistency similar to bechamel.
Stir in reserved guanciale and serve immediately with extra pepper and Pecorino.