I want to eat pasta carbonara. I need a good recipe.

[ApolloandDaphne]

I am having a notion for carbonara. The delicious creamy, bacony sort you get in an Italian restaurant. I've never made it before. Can anyone give me a foolproof and unctuous recipe? Thanks.

If you can get it from a good Italian Deli, Guanciale is the most traditional cured pork to use. Also Pecorino is better than Parmesan for my money, and that's pretty common in the supermarkets.

I make plenty of quick pasta sauces with cream and/or garlic, but it's not really a carbonara a that point.

Pliiiiz no cream or garlic in a carbonara (Italian weeping here!).

Adding some of the pasta water at the end is what makes it glossy and saucy - not loads. I use tongs to move the pasta to the frying pan so water comes with it, then add a bit more

My favourite recipe is one egg yolk per person plus one extra in a bowl, grate in parmigiana reggiano, add black pepper and whisk, fry pancetta or pieces of bacon til crispy, cook pasta and reserve some of the pasta water before you drain it.

Add egg mix to the pan with the pancetta, add the pasta, then add a bit of the pasta water and stir it through.

Yum!

I used to make it with cream but since I tried the above recipe I dont anymore.

@SinkGirl is right that's what I do too. All the authentic Italian recipes I've used keep the pasta a bit' 'wet' when adding it to the pancetta so don't drain it till its dry just tip enough out, then scoop the pasta out to the frying pan

And then use some of the pasta cooking water at the end (you need the starch in it so not just normal water). Depending on amount you are making, I usually find 3-4 tablespoons is enough to give it the glossy ooziness you want for the sauce without making it too runny.

I seem to have started carbonara wars! I'm in Marks getting some stuff to make it. I am sure it will be very tasty whatever I do.

@LazyMareofEastown

Mind you, If this thread goes the way of so many other MN Italian dishes treads, someone will be along soon to say they put an oxo cube and some Lea & Perrins in 🤣

Or some hidden grated courgette and a few mushrooms?

Actually Italians, grab a few more Kleenex for when I tell you that my kids favourite version of carbonara is made with

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gruyere!

@user1471523870

Hope you don't mind me asking OP. Is your husband and Italian chef working in a restaurant abroad, therefore he has customized it for different tastes? Just curious as in Italy we don't really add a lot of pepper, nor we fry the pancetta in butter. And we add grated cheese to the egg.

The technique you are describing looks spot on.

We always bring back to Italy some guanciale to be used instead of pancetta. And we tend to use pecorino rather than parmesan (but we use don't have it we add grana padano, as we are from the region where it's produced and we prefer it to parmesan).

No idea where you got the idea my DH is an Italian chef. He is a cyber security expert from the West of Scotland! I think some people else mentioned their DH was a chef and I maybe quoted their post?

So sorry! Yes, I meant to quote another message!

@TheAwfuITruth

Actually Italians, grab a few more Kleenex for when I tell you that my kids favourite version of carbonara is made with

.
.
.
.
gruyere!

Ooohhhh that's an interesting variant I never heard of!

@user1471523870

Ooohhhh that's an interesting variant I never heard of!

I just had not much parmesan and shedloads of gruyere. But they liked it so much I've had to keep making it

My tip is to add a couple of spoonfuls of the pasta water to the egg mixture before you drain the pasta.
The starchy water stops your eggs scrambling.

I love this YouTube channel for all things Italian food:

They go around the country interviewing local grannies (and granddads sometimes) while they make a favourite local recipe. Everything I've made from them has been fantastic

Sionnach I almost posted a link to that channel too! It's better (and cheaper) than therapy for me 😆😍

I came on to say pecorino instead of parmesan, but I see others got there first.

Interesting about frying the bacon with butter - I had always mixed it in with the egg yolks. But that’s pretty tough - I may try with the bacon next time.

I’ve always used streaky bacon, but I think that’s an availability thing as next best to guanciale or pancetta.

Source: Italian grandma.

God I feel you on that! They're so easy to watch. I've so much respect for the Italian ladies on it, so many had hard lives. My other two food therapy channels are Kent Rollins (the most soothing Southern US accent I've ever found) and Tasting History (just fascinating, even if I'm not going to make half the things he does).

A great way to waste time

I love cream and a tiny bit of grated mature cheese in it

@ApolloandDaphne

I seem to have started carbonara wars! I'm in Marks getting some stuff to make it. I am sure it will be very tasty whatever I do.

Oh don't worry! As @LazyMareofEastown says, here on MN Italian style pasta dishes are fairly split between "I have a third cousin who married an Italian and so my recipe is the only way" and "lasagne? Open the fridge door, tip it to 45 degrees and whatever falls in the saucepan is good to go"

I did wince a bit at the idea of garlic (and u won't tell dp) but yes, of course it needs cheese- far more IMO than any recipe will ever tell you!

It's my dh who's a chef @user1471523870 and we're in Italy.

Prefer parmesan to pecorino though personally. And pancetta affumicata to guanciale.

There's a very funny post somewhere on one of these threads with a poster commenting that only on MN would people chuck roadkill and an old carpet into a lasagne.

This one -> www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/gennaro-s-classic-spaghetti-carbonara/

Don’t be fooled by the Oliver, it’s a Gennaro Contaldo 5 ingredient recipe

I always squash a garlic clove (or 4) when frying the meat then add the pasta to the frying pan rather that the meat to the pasta pan. I tong the pasta in rather than drain as the pasta water saves the cheese/egg mixture being to gritty and makes it lovely and smooth . Some times I add a dash of cream other times not. Lovely both ways

@Geamhradh

There's a very funny post somewhere on one of these threads with a poster commenting that only on MN would people chuck roadkill and an old carpet into a lasagne.

I am still utterly traumatised by one lasagne thread in which someone's secret ingredient was tinned sweetcorn 😢.

@shurls recipe is what I do too and its sooooo good

If you're in the West of Scotland that might explain the addition of gaelic by a PP upthread....

Have been known to make a travesty of spaghetti with bacon, egg and courgette as suggested by ODFOx but I've never dared call it carbonara.

DD's Italian penfriend wanted to cook it for us last time she came to stay and brought all the ingredients except the eggs with her as she wasn't sure she'd be able to buy the quality over here. (Being fair to her the first time she visited she did see the travesty that is ready made microwaveable risotto in the supermarket...)