Spaghetti Carbonara is an Italian classic that is made with 5 simple ingredients – pasta, cheese, egg, pancetta and black pepper. There are many theories about it’s origins and how it came to be, but most sources trace it to the region of Lazio, where Rome is the capital of.
Timing is important when cooking carbonara so try to familiarise yourself with the recipe before you begin.
Boiling the spaghetti
Begin by putting a pot of water on to boil for the spaghetti. Depending on the size of your pot, it should take about 4-6 minutes for the water to start boiling. After which, salt the water and put the spaghetti in to cook.
Follow the instructions on the packet of the spaghetti for the perfect timing, which is usually 8-10 mins. The total cook time for your pasta is usually about 12-16 minutes.
Sautéing the Garlic and Pancetta
Dice the pancetta into small cubes that are no larger than 1/4 inch and set aside.
Gently smash the cloves of garlic and remove the skin. In a small pan, heat up the olive oil over a medium fire and sauté the garlic till they turn a deep golden brown. The oil will now be infused with a nice garlic flavour, and the garlic can be removed and discarded.
In the same pan with the garlic oil, throw in the diced pancetta and cook till they turn crispy at the edges. Turn off the fire and set aside for topping later.
Bringing the Carbonara together
Using a wide plate or bowl, break the egg and beat lightly with a fork. (Note that the egg will not be cooked over a flame and only gently heated by the spaghetti. If there are concerns around the usage of raw egg, consider using pasteurised eggs.)
Grate the parmesan cheese over the egg, add in the black pepper and mix well. (The cold cheese helps to reduce the chances of the egg curdling later when the hot spaghetti is added.)
At this point, your spaghetti should be just about cooked. Using a pair of tongs, transfer the spaghetti to the bowl and toss rapidly and coat each strand well. Toss quickly to ensure that the egg does not curdle and instead forms a creamy, silk mixture that is glistening. Add a little starch water if necessary and keep tossing.
Final toss before serving the carbonara
Reheat the pancetta briefly and pour all the pancetta and garlicky oil into the bowl of spaghetti and toss once more. Serve immediately – topped with more grated parmesan and black pepper as desired!
Perfecting your spaghetti carbonara takes a little practice, so do not be disheartened if you take a few tries to get it right! You will not regret this!
Classic Italian Spaghetti Carbonara
Ingredients
- 180 g spaghetti
- 100 g pancetta (slab bacon can be used as an alternative)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 small egg (use pasteurized egg if you have concerns about using raw eggs)
- 0.25 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbp olive oil
Instructions
- Begin by putting a pot of water on to boil for the spaghetti.
- Dice the pancetta into small cubes that are no larger than 1/4 inch.
- Gently smash the cloves of garlic and remove the skin. In a small pan, heat up the olive oil over a medium fire and sauté the garlic till they turn a deep golden brown. The oil should now be infused with the garlic flavour; remove the garlic and discard.
- In the same pan, throw in the diced pancetta and cook till they turn crispy at the edges. Turn off the fire and set aside.
- Using a wide plate or bowl, break the egg and beat lightly with a fork. Grate the parmesan cheese over, add the black pepper and mix well.
- At this point, your spaghetti should be cooked. Using a pair of tongs, transfer the spaghetti to the bowl and toss rapidly to coat each strand well. The heat from the spaghetti will ensure that the egg mixture comes together well.
- Reheat the pancetta briefly and pour all the pancetta and garlicy oil into the bowl of spaghetti and toss once more.
- Serve immediately – topped with more grated parmesan and black pepper as desired!