Ultimate spaghetti carbonara

Ultimate spaghetti carbonara

Discover how to make the perfect Spaghetti carbonara - with a little help from Gennaro Contaldo

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 15 - 20 mins

Cook time

Cook 15 mins

Method

  1. Put a large saucepan of water on to boil. Finely chop the pancetta, having first removed any rind. Finely grate both cheeses and mix them together. Beat the eggs in a medium bowl, season with a little freshly grated black pepper and set everything aside.
  2. Add 1 tsp salt to the boiling water, add the spaghetti and when the water comes back to the boil, cook at a constant simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until al dente (just cooked).
  3. Squash the garlic with the blade of a knife, just to bruise it. While the spaghetti is cooking, fry the pancetta with the garlic. Drop the butter into a large wide frying pan or wok and, as soon as the butter has melted, tip in the pancetta and garlic. Leave these to cook on a medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the pancetta is golden and crisp. The garlic has now imparted its flavour, so take it out with a slotted spoon and discard.
  4. Keep the heat under the pancetta on low.When the pasta is ready lift it from the water with a pasta fork or tongs and put it in the frying pan with the pancetta (see left). Don't worry if a little water drops in the pan as well (you want this to happen) and don't throw the rest of the pasta water away yet.
  5. Mix most of the cheese in with the eggs, keeping a small handful back for sprinkling over later. Take the pan of spaghetti and pancetta off the heat. Now quickly pour in the eggs and cheese and, using the tongs or a long fork, lift up the spaghetti so it mixes easily with the egg mixture, which thickens but doesn't scramble, and everything is coated. Add extra pasta cooking water to keep it saucy (several tablespoons should do it). You don't want it wet, just moist. Season with a little salt, if needed.
  6. Use a long-pronged fork to twist the pasta on to the serving plate or bowl. Serve immediately with a little sprinkling of the remaining cheese and a grating of black pepper. If the dish does get a little dry before serving, splash in some more hot pasta water and the glossy sauciness will be revived.
Try

Like this?

Add some veg and make Courgette carbonara.

Per serving

655 kcalories, protein 32g, carbohydrate 66g, fat 31 g, saturated fat 16g, fibre 3g, salt 2.02 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, November 2002.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 41-60

  • Binder photo Roger

    09 November 2010

    Roger commented on this recipe

    An absolutely excellent pasta meal.Good for nearly any occasion.

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  • Binder photo chefarchie15

    21 November 2010

    chefarchie15 commented on this recipe

    would add spring onions mushrooms and might try and make the pasta myself

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  • Binder photo chefarchie15

    21 November 2010

    chefarchie15 commented on this recipe

    would add spring onions mushrooms and might try and make the pasta myself

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  • Binder photo Cait

    30 November 2010

    Cait rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    The best 'proper' carbonara ever! Authentic and gorgeous. I now know this recipe off by heart and cook it about once a week.

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  • Binder photo Ef

    12 January 2011

    Ef rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    Def. NOT doing this again. Tasted bad, if I could, I would give it zero stars.

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  • Binder photo lizzydrip

    15 January 2011

    lizzydrip commented on this recipe

    Beautiful and enjoyed by all my family with requests for me to make another one soon. I also added some chicken, red onions, peppers and a few sundried tomatoes. I had some boursin left over and added some of that to the egg mixture as i couldn't get the pecorino.

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  • Binder photo sme

    17 January 2011

    sme rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Good stuff this version of carbonara. BUT, must say I do get tired in some of these reviews where people say things like "I took out the eggs, added some brie, didn't use the parsley, but substituted mint, and since I didn't have any bacon I used a lamb chop. Gorgeous, I'd make it again!" Give me a break!

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  • Binder photo lizzydrip

    17 January 2011

    lizzydrip commented on this recipe

    i think its great that other cooks can leave their suggestions and how they have adapted it. I always value ideas and often use them myself.

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  • Binder photo d41d0y

    25 January 2011

    d41d0y rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Easy, quick, authentic. Been searching for a "proper" carbonara recipe for ages, and this one was great. Loved the subtle flavour of the garlic.

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  • Binder photo vhoracek

    09 February 2011

    vhoracek rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    excellent :) some chopped basil leaves helped, too!

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  • Binder photo yummy things

    13 February 2011

    yummy things rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Just made this carbonara, first tim etrying this at home. It was delish! I also did not have pecorino, or butter, so I used olive oil and parmesan. Next time i think i will add a little chopped garlic to the pancetta as well. Will be making again soon! x

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  • Binder photo sydjnr

    01 March 2011

    sydjnr rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    empty plates thats all i wanted;))))

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  • Binder photo Mevatron

    04 March 2011

    Mevatron commented on this recipe

    I cna guarantee that this is the best carbonara that you will ever taste! Superb, and it's something I cook regularly because it has to be one of my favourite recipes in the entire world!

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  • Binder photo emsta88

    05 March 2011

    emsta88 rated and commented on this recipe

    2 stars

    a bit bland. not what we expected :(

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  • Binder photo grange

    26 March 2011

    grange rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    The best!

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  • Binder photo suedebloke

    29 March 2011

    suedebloke rated this recipe

    4 stars

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  • Binder photo saffij

    10 April 2011

    saffij rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Whoo hoo! It didn't curdle! Great recipe. Will do again and again. Many thanks

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  • Binder photo Ruth

    12 April 2011

    Ruth rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really easy quick mid-week meal. I make it with left overs of gammon and throw it in at the end. I also leave the garlic in the pan as I love the flavour it gives! This is really yummy with leeks and peas too - an easy way of getting some veg portions in!

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  • Binder photo absinthe

    11 May 2011

    absinthe rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I've been making carbonara using this recipe for three years, it's the most delicate, simplistic, authentic and comforting dish. It's the first meal I cooked my partner two years ago and the first meal I cooked last night in our new home. This will be treasured in my recipe file for years to come. The adding of pasta water is a triumph!

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  • Binder photo KateC

    02 July 2011

    KateC rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Absolutely gorgeous. The whole family loved it. I actually thought that the cheesiness might be a bit strong for my young sons but they scraped their plates clean. The only thing I changed (sorry SME - I know it offends you and I did LOL @ your "Substituting bacon for a lamb chop" remark!) was that I added an extra egg yolk - just because I feared the lack of cream in the recipe would mean it wouldn't be rich enough. It would have been.

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 15 - 20 mins

Cook time

Cook 15 mins

Light yet creamy

Ingredients

  • 100g pancetta
  • 50g pecorino cheese
  • 50g Parmesan
  • 3 large eggs
  • 350g spaghetti (De Cecco is very good)
  • 2 plump garlic cloves , peeled and left whole
  • 50g unsalted butter
  • Maldon salt and freshly grated black pepper
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Per serving

655 kcalories, protein 32g, carbohydrate 66g, fat 31 g, saturated fat 16g, fibre 3g, salt 2.02 g

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