Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Show: Food 911Episode: Mangia! Mangia!

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (128)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(128)

Cook Time:
10 min
Level:
Intermediate
Yield:
4 to 6 servings

Times:

Prep: 15 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 10 min
Total:: 25 min

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Ingredients

1 pound dry spaghetti
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces pancetta or slab bacon, cubed or sliced into small strips
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 large eggs
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
Freshly ground black pepper
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Directions

Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking to ensure that the spaghetti will be hot and ready when the sauce is finished; it is very important that the pasta is hot when adding the egg mixture, so that the heat of the pasta cooks the raw eggs in the sauce.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender yet firm (as they say in Italian "al dente.") Drain the pasta well, reserving 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water to use in the sauce if you wish.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium flame. Add the pancetta and saute for about 3 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the fat is rendered. Toss the garlic into the fat and saute for less than 1 minute to soften.

Add the hot, drained spaghetti to the pan and toss for 2 minutes to coat the strands in the bacon fat. Beat the eggs and Parmesan together in a mixing bowl, stirring well to prevent lumps. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the egg/cheese mixture into the pasta, whisking quickly until the eggs thicken, but do not scramble (this is done off the heat to ensure this does not happen.) Thin out the sauce with a bit of the reserved pasta water, until it reaches desired consistency. Season the carbonara with several turns of freshly ground black pepper and taste for salt. Mound the spaghetti carbonara into warm serving bowls and garnish with chopped parsley. Pass more cheese around the table.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Ashley Wilmington, NC 01-29-2010
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Delicious and Satisfying
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I've made several spaghetti carbonara recipes and I think this is one of the best. I think the proportions in this recipe... are just right. It's very easy to make. I'll definitely make this again!Read more
recipe Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Jennifer Syracuse, NY 01-14-2010
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The real thing
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Thanks Tyler for a great and authentic recipe. It seems like every recipe I find adds cream (I even had the dish with cream... in a trattoria in Rome- they must have been catering to tourists) but this one is perfect. Just the right amount of creaminess from the eggs and cheese- I think adding any cream on top of that would make it too rich. I've never understood why people want to make this into a creamy bacon cousin of alfredo, rather than keep it just about the eggs, bacon and cheese. You can also use some pecorino, by itself or mixed in with parm for a bit of a different taste. I tend to mix the eggs and cheese in the serving bowl and then simply add the pasta right in that and stir rather than putting it back in the pan. This may be a bit worrisome for those who want their eggs slightly more cooked, but I prefer the consistency when done that way. You can also try this using just yolks or with half just yolks and half whole eggs for a bit of a richer flavor. All in all, a great quick pasta recipe with ingredients most people have on hand all the time. The most important part in my opinion is that you serve absolutely immediately. This is not a dish that will lend well to sitting out/on the stove while you do other things. Luckily it's quite quick to prepare so timing issues should not be too difficult.Read more
recipe Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Lenka Washington Twp, NJ 01-06-2010
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Full of Flavor
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

A recipe I was always afraid to make. I think it was the raw eggs. It's so easy and amazing. If you love bacon you will love... this. Thank you Tyler for another delicious recipe. You rock!Read more
recipe Spaghetti alla Carbonara
marissa follansbee, WV 11-18-2009
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Easy and Absolutely Delicious!!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This was amazing, I think I found my new favorite recipe. Very simple and fast as well. I changed a few things after... reading others reviews. I used a little extra bacon and cut back on the olive oil. I added about 1/4 cup of the hot pasta water to the egg cheese mixture before adding it to the pasta to make it easier to work with. Will definitely make this again, probably next week!!Read more
recipe Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Tina Columbus, OH 11-16-2009
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Finally found my carbonara recipe!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This is absolutely delicious. We followed it as-is EXCEPT I used 6 oz of pancetta instead of 4 oz. (we love bacon!) and, as... other reviewers suggested, we added some of the hot pasta water directly to the egg-cheese mixture BEFORE mixing it with the hot pasta. Also threw in about 1/2 tsp of lemon zest to the finished product, only b/c I love lemon. It was really wonderful, and we will definitely make it again. :)Read more
recipe Spaghetti alla Carbonara
cat seattle, WA 08-06-2009
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REDUCED FAT VERSION
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I made a reduced fat version of this recipe (b/c I have to eat that way) that came out quite well, so I thought I'd... share: For 1 lb pasta, I used ~5 oz Boar's Head Black Forest Ham (5 cal fat/60 cal; ham's really vary as to fat content, check first!) instead of bacon/pancetta, I only used 1 tbp olive oil to saute the ham, added 6 oz parmesan (again Boar's Head, at 10 cal fat/20 cal / tbp) to the 2 eggs, and thinned with 1/4 2% evaporated milk instead of cream for a creamier carbonara. Total calorie count per serving (assuming 8 servings total): 80 fat cals/ 342 total cals which is less than 25% of calories from fat! And it came out pretty darn good too! (except that I'm allergic to garlic and had to substitue asafoetida. Not a super substitution; garlic would've been much tastier, alas)Read more