Chitarra alla Carbonara
You don't need cream to make this sauce creamy. Follow these easy steps to make the Carbonara of your dreams.
This is, 10 out of 10, my favorite pasta recipe that has ever existed. It’s the only pasta I’ve tasted that’s never the same twice. The recipe is very simple. That creaminess is simply created from high-quality egg yolks and melty aged cheeses, but no cream. MORE CHEESE, please! My family better bury me with this pasta, it’s THAT good.
Carbonara is a classic Italian pasta dish that’s made by whisking a mixture of egg yolks into hot pasta to create a creamy sauce. If you’ve never had it before or have had bad experiences curdling the eggs when you’ve made it, let this recipe be your guide — it’s actually very simple. There’s no need to cook your pasta after adding your egg mixture; you just let the pasta water and pork fat do the cooking for you.
Look at how simple these ingredients are. To make Carbonara, you just need four things: high-quality egg yolks, guanciale, pecorino romano, and a square-cut spaghetti called chitarra.
Chitarra means “guitar” in Italian and is cut through a doohickey with strings to create the signature square cut. This is a traditional method of cutting spaghetti in the Abruzzo region of Italy, just East of Rome, where my family is from.
Guanciale is a cured pork cheek that is the key to unlocking this very traditional pork flavor. If you know you know. “Guancia” is the Italian word for cheek, and the cheek has a very different flavor than the pork belly or hind legs i.e. pancetta, or prosciutto. You might have to call a few butcher shops to find it, but it’s out there. Promise!
Pecorino is a sheep’s milk cheese, very well known for its funky flavor. Pecorino Romano is stocked in most grocery store cheese sections. Please don’t buy shelf-stable cheese. It detracts so much from the authentic flavor. Good Pecorino will be refrigerated to prevent spoilage and it will cost more than $5. I like to buy a block or a good freshly grated container. This will last more than enough time in your fridge. If you aren’t a fan of Pecorino and its funky flavor you should try to become a fan, BUT if you desperately can’t stand it you can use Parmigiano. NOT THAT KRAFT STUFF!
The process is simple, so the ingredients should be as well. The Italians believe in food being inexpensive, high quality, and delicious. Spoil yourself with good ingredients will ya! Now for the process:
Whisk your egg yolks with your cheese until you form a paste, then quickly whisk in some salty hot pasta water to make the sauce, then toss your pasta in the bowl with the egg over the hot water. As you toss the pasta, it will continue to cook from the residual heat and you will see the sauce becoming creamier and creamier. Finish with guanciale and black pepper and WHAM!
I’ve never had the same recipe of this pasta twice and that’s because the origins of Carbonara are fuzzy. Everyone makes THEIR own version of Carbonara. One of the first documented recipes in America was from my hometown Chicago, from a restaurant called Armandos. The recipe had cream, peas, ham, and mushrooms added to it. I like to call this the Betty Crocker version. Betty Crocker said “Raw eggs in pasta?”– I think not!”
My version has its roots in true Italian fare — simple, straightforward, and delicious. If you’re craving creamy pasta, you can get it using this method without using any cream in your pasta sauce at all. It’s a simple recipe, so don’t inflate it into something you can’t handle. If you take your time and follow the steps, great Carbonara at home is very achievable. You’ll be slurping your way to creamy pasta heaven soon!
Chitarra alla Carbonara
Ingredients
- 12 oz. spaghetti alla chitarra
- 5 good egg yolks (heritage eggs or farm eggs)
- 1/2 cup finely grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
- 1/2 cup finely grated pecorino Romano, plus extra for garnish
- 6 oz. guanciale, diced, reserve 1/3 cup guanciale fat
- Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Preparation
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta for 9 minutes, then strain your pasta, leaving the pasta water over low heat to finish the spaghetti. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water.
- In a large glass bowl, use a wooden spoon to stir together the egg yolks, grated parm, and pecorino until paste forms. Crack 8 - 10 cranks of freshly cracked black pepper into the mixture. Set aside.
- Sear your guanciale in a large saute pan over medium heat for 4 - 6 minutes, until edges are crispy and center is slightly translucent. Remove crispy guanciale to a paper towel-lined plate then reserve your pork fat in a bowl.
- Whisk in 3 tablespoons of pork fat and 1/4 cup reserved pasta water into the egg mixture until smooth. Toss your cooked pasta in the bowl with the egg mixture until coated.
- Put your bowl over the low simmering pasta water pot and toss pasta with the remaining reserved pasta water using tongs.
- When the consistency is creamy, but not too watery, add in the crispy guanciale and gently toss together. Remove bowl from double boiler, then plate and garnish with extra pecorino cheese.