Learn to make spaghetti carbonara

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Good Food

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1. Cook the spaghetti. Bring a large, deep pan of salted water to the boil. Plunge spaghetti into the water, stir well and cook, following pack instructions. Aim for 'al dente': cooked, but retaining some bite in the middle. Take a few strands out of the water with a spaghetti spoon or tongs 1-2 mins before the end of the cooking time and bite into it. Repeat until you think it is properly cooked.
2. Fry the pancetta. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan. When hot, tip in the pancetta or streaky bacon. Fry over a medium heat until the fat in the meat has melted down into the pan and the meat has turned lightly golden. Be careful not to crisp the pancetta too much; it will be cooked a little bit more later on in the recipe. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. Prepare the sauce. Crack 2 of the 4 eggs into a mixing bowl. Separate the yolk from the third egg: gently crack the side of the shell and, using both hands, slowly open it into two halves over a separate bowl - you want to keep the yolk in one of the halves. Tip the yolk from one shell half to the other and repeat until all the egg white has fallen into the bowl below, taking care not to crack the yolk on any rough shell edges. Tip the yolk in with the other eggs and beat together, along with the cream, the cheese and some seasoning.
4. Combine the dish. Add garlic to the pancetta and return frying pan to hob. Fry over high heat for 1 min or until garlic is cooked and pancetta warmed through. Meanwhile, drain spaghetti. Tip back into the hot saucepan off the heat. Pour egg mixture over pasta, followed by hot pancetta, garlic, any fat and oils. Toss quickly and thoroughly with spaghetti spoon or tongs. Mix until it has thickened to a smooth, creamy sauce. Serve with extra cheese and freshly ground pepper.

Lower in fat

Omit extra egg yolk, replace double cream with low-fat crème fraîche.

Per serving

734 kcalories, protein 33g, carbohydrate 75g, fat 36 g, saturated fat 15g, fibre 3g, salt 2.95 g

Latest comments and suggestions

• indrekparli

  09 November 2007

  indrekparli rated this recipe

  

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• lanny

  16 June 2008

  lanny commented on this recipe

  i love spaghetti carbonara, this was lush!

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• Jacqueline Herbert

  14 July 2008

  Jacqueline Herbert rated and commented on this recipe

  

  I loved this carbonara, i added 3 shallots to the bacon with the garlic and used a healthy option double cream and it was delicious but i still don't want to think of all those calories...lol. But i will definitely make this again.

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• rosieshearma

  03 September 2008

  rosieshearma commented on this recipe

  This is a really good one, I added a small glass of white wine to the cream and it was delicious, even the kids wanted more!

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• tillibud

  12 September 2008

  tillibud commented on this recipe

  I made this last night with creme freche and not cream because I have reflux and can't eat cream. It was delicious and I suffered not after effects either. The kids loved it as well, a hugh success

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• tillibud

  12 September 2008

  tillibud rated this recipe

  

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• sami75

  25 September 2008

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• My Recipes

  05 December 2008

  My Recipes commented on this recipe

  Takes a few times to perfect. I only used 200g of Spaghetti because I thought it was a little dry! Be careful not to scramble the eggs if you reheat the dish in a pan! I added some black pepper and a "splosh" of Lea & Perrins for an extra kick.

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• Grissom

  18 December 2008

  Grissom commented on this recipe

  I tried this out yesterday and it was absolutely delicious..will definitely do it again sometime soon

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• claremorris

  07 January 2009

  claremorris rated and commented on this recipe

  

  In the ingredients it says 3 eggs but the method says 4!! Other than that it's great! Use double cream...much better!

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Ingredients

• 400g spaghetti
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 200g smoked pancetta cubes or streaky bacon, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 eggs
• half a 142 ml pot double cream (71 ml)
• 50g Grana padano or parmesan , finely grated, plus extra to serve

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Difficulty and servings

Serves 4

Preperation and cooking times

Cook 20 mins

Ingredients

• 400g spaghetti
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 200g smoked pancetta cubes or streaky bacon, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 eggs
• half a 142 ml pot double cream (71 ml)
• 50g Grana padano or parmesan , finely grated, plus extra to serve

Per serving

734 kcalories, protein 33g, carbohydrate 75g, fat 36 g, saturated fat 15g, fibre 3g, salt 2.95 g

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