The Real Pasta a la Carbonara

Breakfast pasta. That’s basically what Pasta a la Carbonara is! Eggs, bacon, pasta and cheese all mixed together in the most beautiful way, to make a classic dish that never disappoints. Will your pants feel a bit more snug after indulging in this dish? Perhaps! But it’s so totally worth ever single bit!

Before we get into it though, I have to bring this up. You know what really bothers me? When people make pasta wrong. There are so many “impastas” out there trying to come in and ruin an already perfect and beautiful thing. For why, though? Now I’m about to say something that you may find offensive but…. Americans are ruining pasta and people are following the lead. Say it with me. Pasta are not noodles. Parmegiano Reggiano is not the saw dust that’s being sold in the dry food aisle of the grocery store and cream does not go into Pasta a la Carbonara.

If you’ve been putting cream in your carbonara, you’ve been making it wrong. The added cream is unnecessary and it’s wrong - so so wrong. For a classic and delicious carbonara, you require four simple ingredients: pasta, pancetta or guanciale (bacon will suffice), eggs and parmigiano reggiano. That. Is. All. Say it with me now: “No cream!”

Now that I feel fairly confident about getting my point across, let’s move on to the important steps to consider when making this dish.

Since it can be a bit challenging to get your hands on pancetta and especially guanciale, bacon is a reasonable replacement. I’m no butcher but from what I understand, the difference between these three cuts is that pancetta comes from the pork belly and is cured but not smoked where as bacon is in fact smoked. Guanciale on the other hand does not come from the pork belly but from the jowl/cheek instead and is overall, more intense in flavour.

Moving on, let’s talk about the “sauce”. Since you’re NOT using cream in your carbonara, you may be wondering how to achieve that lux, creamy sauce. Eggs, parm and some pasta cooking water are all you need, my friends. You’ll start off by whisking some whole eggs - farm fresh is always best, especially during these times when supporting local is so pivotal! For carbonara, I generally add in one whole egg per portion. If you wanted to make this creamier and richer (as if that’s even necessary, but you do you) adding an extra egg yolk isn’t uncommon. I find that using whole eggs vs just the yolks provides a loser but still rich sauce. Whisk the eggs and to them add a good amount of freshly grated parm. That is your sauce!

If you’ve made pasta a la carbonara before, you’ve likely accidentally scrambled the eggs. I know, it’s happened to the best of us. Remember that the egg mixture is your sauce, so you want it to coat and become one with the pasta rather than being a separate component of the dish. The key to avoid scrambling the eggs is to combine the pasta and egg “sauce” off of the heat. You can do this in the pan that you cooked the pancetta in or in a separate large mixing bowl (just make sue the bowl is large enough to toss everything together). The heat of the pasta will cook the eggs without scrambling them. Next, to add a bit more flavour, saltiness and to help the sauce coat the pasta, add in the magical ingredient that is your reserved pasta cooking water. There are many takeaways when it comes to making a good plate of pasta, but reserving the starchy cooking water is key!

I hope you all enjoy this authentic recipe and I beg you not to ruin it by adding unnecessary cream to it. The creaminess comes from the eggs and parm that emulsifies with the starchy pasta water (look at me using fancy words) and the pancetta adds a nice bite and saltiness. It’s no wonder why carbonara is considered a classic, so for the love - let’s keep it that way!

Please be sure to tag me on the ‘gram when you make this at @lifefromtheplaypen and share this recipe with your friend and fam so we can all start making pasta the right way, haha! Buon appetito!

Pasta a la Carbonara

Life From the Playpen | May 2020

Prep Time: 5 mins | Cook Time: 25 mins | Total Time: 30 mins
Servings: 4

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb long shaped pasta or medium tubular pasta such as penne*
• 4 whole eggs
• 1 lb bacon/pancetta or guanciale, cut into 1/4" pieces
• 1/3 cup parmigiano reggiano
• S&P
  

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once it's come up to a boil, season it generously with salt and cook your pasta according to the package instructions or until al dente.
2. Place a large skillet with high sides over medium heat and add 1/2 tsp of olive oil. Add in pancetta/bacon and cook until it becomes lightly golden and crisp. If the bacon renders out a lot of fat, drain it making sure to leave at least 1 tbsp of oil remaining in the pan.* Trick: to drain excess oil, place a dry piece of paper towel in the pan and allow the paper towel to absorb any excess oil
   
3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and parm.
4. Once pasta is cooked, either reserve 1 cup of the startchy pasta cooking water in a cup and drain pasta in a collander or transfer the pasta from the pot to the bacon skillet, using tongs.
5. While the skillet remains off of the heat, toss the pasta and bacon together and gradually add in the egg mixture. Add in 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the startchy pasta cooking water to help create a thicker sauce and follow that up by adding in extra parm. Serve immediately and enjoy!