Pasta Carbonara is often deemed to be the favorite pasta dish of many. It is a classic Italian pasta dish consisting of eggs, pork (classically guanciale – pork cheek, but also sometimes with pancetta or bacon), pecorino cheese, black pepper, and pasta…that is IT. A common misconception is that there is added cream, butter, or extra fat that goes into the recipe. My technique for this recipe yields a deliciously creamy result while avoiding the need to add anything other than the classic ingredients.
Check out my recipe video to see it in action:
The KEY to my recipe is using the egg white, which other chefs often discard when making this dish. The yolks are combined with freshly grated pecorino cheese and a touch of pork fat, and the whites are whipped to form soft peaks. When tossing the pasta with the sauce, I start with the egg yolk combination and finish it by gently folding in the airy egg whites to add an extra touch of creaminess.
Once your try this new technique, I promise you won’t want to make this dish any other way!!!
**A note on eggs: people often worry about consuming raw eggs in this dish. Although the eggs are tempered and cooked through with the residual heat from the pasta, I recommend opting for pasture-raised eggs when there is a chance you may consume any of them raw. Pasture-raised hens are allowed to roam on green, grassy pastures every day and it’s most likely that those chickens had lots of sun and a healthy diet and therefore won’t have much salmonella to pass onto their eggs.
The BEST creamy Carbonara Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 oz Guancale If you can't find traditional guanciale, pancetta and bacon can work as a substitute
- 1 cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese
- 3 eggs, yolks and white seperated I recommend pasture-rasied eggs
- 1 lb Buccatini, Spaghetti, Rigatoni or your favorite pasta
- Fresh Cracked Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Slice the guanciale into bite-sized pieces. Heat a skillet over medium heat, add the guanciale, and cook to render the fat and crisp up the pieces. Use a slotted spoon to remove the crispy guanciale onto a paper towel lined plate.
- In two bowls, separate the egg whites and yolks. To the yolks, add the grated pecorino cheese and combine well (it should be thick and paste-like). Add about a tsp of the rendered fat from the guanciale.
- Beat the egg whites using a whisk or mixer for a few minutes (1-3) until you achieve soft peaks and there is no liquid at the bottom of the bowl.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a good pinch of salt (but not too much because the guanciale and pecorino are already salty). Cook the pasta 2 minutes under al dente.
- Remove all but 1 tbsp of the rendered fat from the pan you cooked the guanciale in. Crack some fresh black pepper and toast for 1 minute. Add in the under al dente pasta to the pan and toss well to coat. Turn the heat OFF. Mix one ladle of the pasta water to the egg yolk mixture, stir well, and then add to the pan with the pasta. Stir vigorously to form an emulsion and coat the pasta. Add more pasta water as necessary to keep a saucy consistency.
- Gently fold the egg whites into the pasta until just combined.
- Plate the pasta and top with the crispy guanciale and extra pecorino romano cheese and black pepper as wanted.
- ENJOY!
Hi Ale! I was really excited to try this and it came put decent – not as good as yours looked. I has a good creamy enulsion up until folding in the egg whites – then it got a little lumpy with small egg pieces instead of a smooth sauce. It still tasted great but you have tips for keeping it nice and creamy?
Hello Emily! Thanks so much for trying out the recipe. I am sorry that happened to you when adding in the whites — my guess is that the heat was too strong in the pan. It is important for the pan to be OFF the heat in this step (something I should have noted in the recipe and will add right now!) The eggs cook in residual heat of the pan and pasta.