Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Show: Food 911Episode: Mangia! Mangia!

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (123)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(123)

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
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
recipe Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Lisa Dumfries, VA 07-18-2009
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To David from Denver
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

My grandmother was a coal miner's wife - she ALWAYS had parsley, along with tomatoes, peppers, basil, and more in her garden.... All her neighbors did also. The best food came out of that tiny kitchen using all fresh ingredients, including made from scratch pasta and wine! Will be making this recipe tonight - the reviews are very promising! Read more
recipe Spaghetti alla Carbonara
T. Bella Vista, AR 07-15-2009
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Really good. Makes a ton!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I have always wanted to make Carbonara, but thought it would be too difficult. This recipe is actually quite easy. I... doubled the bacon (I had super lean bacon so the extra fat wasn't a problem), used reserved pasta water to temper the eggs and then added about 1/4 of heavy cream at the end. I also added fresh peas and cooked chicken to complete the dish. Even without the addition of the peas and chicken - one pound of cooked spaghetti is a lot. The recipe says 6 servings, but that must be 6 NFL linebackers. We have been eating on the leftovers for 5 days. Next time I will halve the recipe. This dish is rich to say the least. The first night we were all in a carb induced coma for about 2 hours afterward. It's worth it though!Read more
recipe Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Ivy Paramus, NJ 07-13-2009
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Easy and yummy!
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

Very simple to make. Most of the recipes were right in my cabinet and refrigerator. Took less than an hour to make and I had... dinner for my starving husband and son! Plus, it was a very yummy dish. The only thing I would add next time is more bacon!! Read more
recipe Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Peter Vancouver, CA 05-26-2009
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Fantastic and Easy
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

We tried this recipe with bacon instead of pancetta and fresh pasta. We opted to thin the sauce by adding pasta water both... before and after tossing the pasta (watch out for grease splatter) and it was fantastic. No need for cream as other recipes recommend. This is easy to make and a wonderful dish. Read more
recipe Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Deb Alexandria, VA 05-19-2009
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This is GOOD
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Quick, easy and tasty!