The real Spaghetti Carbonara 

Carbonara, perfect recipe to prepare Pasta alla Carbonara as they serve it in Rome, rich and creamy! To prepare the real carbonara you need very few ingredients. In fact, the carbonara according to the original recipe, is prepared with pasta, which can be spaghetti, rigatoni or bucatini (as used in Rome), the aged pecorino Romano DOP, the guanciale (quality) and black pepper. Oh well, and water for cooking, just to be precise!

The purists of Carbonara do not compromise: only these ingredients are needed and parmesan cheese is banned instead of pecorino, bacon or bacon instead of guanciale or, even worse, cream or onion or garlic. I will not be so fiscal, so much at home everyone is free to cook as he wants, but I still want to leave you the original recipe of Carbonara, as it is served in the various taverns of Rome. And how much I ate! A few years ago I was lucky enough to watch a show cooking by Chef Luciano Monosilio, called in Rome the King of Carbonara, on RAI Italia from which I learned some tricks and how to prepare a perfect Carbonara, super creamy!

The Carbonara is really simple to do, the basis of our Italian cuisine, but there are some small precautions to be respected, to make it in the best way. Here is the recipe for Carbonara, the original creamy carbonara!

The family to which carbonara belongs is that of amatriciana, cacio e pepe and carbonara, because geographically we are in Lazio and in particular it is a representative dish of the Roman tradition. On the real carbonara as in many traditional recipes, there are different elements between the various dishes, there are those who choose to use the whole egg or the yolk only, and the amount of the same per person, or whether to add cream or milk to have a creamy carbonara; or whether to marry her with spaghetti, rigatoni, or bucatini! Well then to discover the carbonara that I prepared you just have to continue reading, I am wandering again!

Follow this Carbonara Recipe accompanied by all the tips and secrets step by step and you will prepare at home a perfect pasta Carbonara! creamy and delicious! In just 15 minutes and a few moves! 

As good as the best Italian restaurants in Montreal!

Ingredients

400 g pasta (spaghetti, rigatoni, bucatini)

280 g bacon

200 g pecorino Romano cheese

5 egg yolks (medium size)

black peppercorn to taste

Preparation

How to make Carbonara? It's really an easy recipe, ready in 15 minutes. It was born as a poor dish of Roman cuisine with the ingredients that were available, then eggs, cheese and guanciale. In ancient times it was prepared with whole eggs, over time the recipe has been refined and only the yolks are used. The egg count is 1 medium yolk per diner plus 1 extra yolk. So if there are 4 of you, you will need 5 egg yolks. If you are 2, only 3 yolks! To have a nice yellow cream, use yellow eggs, but, of course, it is not essential. I used these, that's why the cream has a nice bright color! If you want a richer and creamier Carbonara and especially if the portion of pasta is more than 100 grams per person, count 1 yolk per 50 grams of pasta. Honestly, since I make portions of 100 g, I always use the doses that I have indicated among the ingredients and in the recipe. For pepper, I recommend using black peppercorns, freshly ground, which will give all the aroma. First, heat a pot of water. As salt it takes little: about half of the usual quantity, since pecorino is already very tasty. When it has reached the boil, boil the chosen pasta: long pasta such as spaghetti or bucatini, but also the rigatoni are perfect. Take the bacon, remove the rind, and cut it into rather thick strips, of approx. half a centimeter. Let it sizzle in a pan, over moderate heat, until the fat part becomes transparent. There is no need to add more oil, since it will already cook in its abundant fat. Pour the fat into a small bowl. Put the bacon back on the heat to make it crispy for a few minutes, then turn off the heat and keep the bacon apart. Mix egg yolks and pecorino cheese - Carbonara original recipe. Place the egg yolks in a bowl, add the pecorino cheese (keeping two tablespoons for decoration) and a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper. Mix briefly with a spatula. Add 2 ladles of bacon fat to make the egg yolk mixture creamy, thick and velvety, mixing with the spatula. Add the egg yolks to the pasta. Set aside a glass of pasta cooking water and drain the pasta al dente. Pour the pasta into the pan where you cooked the bacon, with the heat off, and add the cream of egg yolks and pecorino cheese and a ladle of cooking water. Mix very well to mix everything. If necessary, add water again. This operation will be done strictly out of focus. When the pasta carbonara has become super creamy (but not liquid), thanks to the heat of the pasta and the starches contained in the water, add the bacon (keeping some strips for decoration), mix briefly and serve in the various dishes. Decorate with a sprinkling of pecorino cheese and a little more pepper. Your Carbonara is ready! The real Carbonara just as it is served in the taverns of Rome!

Some tips...

The fat of the bacon that is inserted into the mixture of egg yolks makes the cream of Carbonara velvety and shiny, as well as fragrant. In addition, the hot fat in the yolk compound also serves to pasteurize the yolk.

If you do not like to use the fat of the bacon, you can replace with 1 – 2 ladles of cooking water, being careful not to make the cream too liquid.

Another method to prepare the Pasta alla Carbonara is to drain the spaghetti directly into the bowl of the yolks and mix everything in a bain-marie, place the bowl (steel or glass) on top of the pot where you cooked the pasta and still full of boiling cooking water. In this way there will also be a pasteurization of the yolk and the pasta carbonara can be stirred with a small source of heat underneath, facilitating the operation.

I use this system: to stir the ingredients of the Carbonara in a bain-marie, lying on top of the pot of water, until the mixture is brought to 52 ° C, the optimal temperature for pasteurizing the egg, but prevent it from coagulating (and becoming an omelet).

When you add the water to the mixture of egg yolks and pecorino cheese and, in the last step, when you mix the Pasta alla Carbonara, put a little at a time. The degree of absorption depends above all on the pecorino and its degree of seasoning. You should never have a liquid cream, nor stir with too much water.

In any case, use freshly grated pecorino cheese and avoid the one in the supermarket bag, especially the mix of ready-made cheeses.

I hope I have intrigued you. Let me know if you try my Carbonara recipe! In my house it is always a success!