🛒 Ingredients
- 400g spaghetti
- 200g guanciale (or cured pancetta)
- 4 egg yolks + 1 whole egg
- 100g grated Pecorino Romano
- generous amount of black pepper
- salt for the cooking water
👨🍳 Step-by-step instructions
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Cook the pasta in heavily salted water until al dente.
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Sauté the guanciale in a pan without oil until crispy.
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Mix egg yolks, whole egg, pecorino, and generous black pepper.
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Turn off the heat and add the drained pasta to the guanciale pan.
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Pour the egg mixture over the pasta off the heat, gradually adding pasta cooking water while stirring to form a smooth, creamy sauce.
💡 Chef's tip
The most common mistake is cooking the eggs directly. The residual heat from the pasta (not from the stove) is enough to set the sauce.
📝 Our take
Carbonara without cream is bafflingly rare in Spain. The Roman version with guanciale, pecorino and whole egg is infinitely more flavourful than any cream imitation. The timing is critical though: if the egg scrambles, start again.
🍷 Wine & food pairing
Dry Roman white wine: Frascati or a Grechetto from Umbria. No red wine with authentic carbonara.
Suggested wine: Frascati Superiore from Lazio
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