There are several classic Italian pasta based dishes that have become well know throughout the world. One of these I described in my recent post la pasta all’Amatriciana. Another famous, but often misinterpreted, Italian pasta dish is gli spaghetti alla Carbonara.

Origins:

There are many stories about the origins of this dish. The most credible one is that la pasta alla Carbonara was a traditional recipe made by i carbonari (the charcoal makers) who worked in the mountains near Roma. During the German Invasion of WWII, many citizens of Roma were evacuated to that area. Whilst there they learned this simple recipe, and once the war was over and they returned to Roma, they brought it back home with them. These days, it is considered a traditional Roman dish.

Un carbonaro al lavoro (Photo Public Domain)

Let’s start by having a look at some of the common mistakes that people commit when trying to make this recipe: DO NOT use cream, fried onion, white wine or mushrooms in gli spaghetti alla Carbonara, avete capito?

In order to try and find the most authentic recipe, I searched through “Il Cucchiaio d’Argento Cucina Regionale”, which is the chef’s ‘Bible’ of traditional Italian regional dishes. Here’s the recipe that I found:

Method:

Fill a big saucepan with water, add a little salt (remember that both the guanciale and the pecorino cheese are quite salty), and bring it to boiling point ready to cook the spaghetti.
In the meantime, chop the guanciale into small cubes and fry it in a non-stick frying pan until it’s golden and crispy. If it produces too much fat, get rid of some of it.
In a big serving bowl beat the eggs and then mix in the fried guanciale, pecorino, and freshly ground pepper.
Cook the spaghetti, drain it, and mix it into the other ingredients in the serving bowl. The heat of the spaghetti will cook the sauce, which should become creamy, but not runny.
Serve immediately with grated pecorino cheese and pepper on the top, to taste.

Notes:

*guanciale is a sort of bacon obtained from la guancia (the cheek) of the pork. It’s not to be confused with the more commonly available pancetta, which is obtained from la pancia (the belly) of the pork. Il guanciale has a much stronger flavour than la pancetta. However, if you can’t get hold of it, you can substitute it with pancetta tesa, but not with the rolled or smoked pancetta.

If you find the flavour of the pecorino too strong, you can use a mixture of pecorino and Parmigiano grated together.

If the sauce is too runny, put the serving bowl on the top of a saucepan containing hot water. Remember that the eggs should not cook, only thicken up. You can also reduce the quantity of the eggs by using 2 egg yokes and 2 whole eggs, instead of 4 whole eggs.

Buon Appetito!