The Best Roman Style Carbonara
A traditional recipe for the best Roman style carbonara! Using only a handful of ingredients - eggs, guanciale, black pepper and pecorino Romano, this recipe will teach you how to make creamy, perfectly emulsified carbonara the proper way. Once you try my recipe, I promise you won’t make it any other way!
For anyone that has known me for even a small amount of time, they will know that carbonara is my death row dish. Salty, creamy, cheesy, carby goodness. You could say I am fanatic about carbonara. Which is why I have been heavily testing this recipe for the better part of 12 months.
There are some incredibly strong opinions on carbonara: ingredients, how to make it, the type of pasta etc etc. I could go on but honestly the longer I spend writing this the longer it will take for me to publish the actual recipe so I will cut it short and just note that you only need four - yes, four - ingredients to make a proper carbonara and no, none of them are cream.
Guanciale, eggs, Pecorino Romano, black pepper.
The key to creaminess is utilising the magic that is pasta water. Trust the process and trust your judgement. Although there are only a few ingredients, this is a somewhat technical dish, but an easy one once you’ve tried it.
Why you’ll love this carbonara
Authentic Roman technique with no cream.
Silky, glossy sauce from eggs and pecorino.
Only 5 ingredients.
Perfect comfort food for any season.
Ingredients you’ll need
Good quality pasta, preferably bronze-die extruded - about 100-150g per person, depending on the shape. For rigatoni I use 100g per person, spaghetti I use up to 150g per person.
Guanciale - cured pork jowl and the traditional cut of meat used to make authentic carbonara. If you can’t find any, pancetta would be the next best option.
Eggs - use good quality eggs for best colour and flavour. I always look at number of hens per hectare when choosing eggs, and preferably purchase from farms where hens are pasture-raised.
Pecorino Romano - this sharp and flavoursome cheese from the Lazio region is essential for carbonara - it has a distinct flavour profile that is noticeably different to parmigiano reggiano.
Black pepper - freshly cracked from peppercorns.
How to make this Roman-style carbonara
1. Cook the pasta
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook your pasta until almost al dente.
2. Slowly render the guanciale
Guanciale is cut into small cubes and slowly cooked from cold over a low-medium heat until crisp and the fat has rendered off. Removing from the pan once cooked but reserving its fat.
3. Prepare the egg mixture
In a bowl, whisk together eggs, finely grated pecorino, and a generous amount of freshly cracked black pepper.
4. Start forming your emulsion
Add the almost al dente pasta and some pasta water to the pan with guanciale fat.
5. Add the eggs to the pan
Add some pasta water to the eggs to temper them, then taking the pan off the heat, add the eggs to the pasta - stirring and tossing vigorously. You can then reintroduce heat to thicken the sauce, or add more pasta water to thin it if it’s too thick.
6. Finishing touches
Serve immediately, with freshly cracked pepper and extra grated pecorino Romano.
FAQs
Can I use bacon instead of guanciale?
You can use pancetta if guanciale isn’t available, but guanciale offers the most authentic flavour.
Can I add cream to carbonara?
Carbonara does not use cream; the creamy texture comes from the emulsion of eggs, cheese, fat and pasta water. Trust me, once you try this recipe you’ll never think of adding cream again!
What pasta shape is best for carbonara?
Spaghetti or rigatoni are most traditional, but any pasta shape can work here.
The Best Roman Style Carbonara
Serves 2, generously
If you’ve not tackled a carbonara before, I recommend you read through the recipe thoroughly and the cook‘s notes before starting.
INGREDIENTS
300g pasta - spaghettoni is often the pasta of choice for carbonara, but spaghetti, bucatini or rigatoni will suffice. If using rigatoni I suggest 100g per person
100g guanciale
2 whole eggs and 3 egg yolks (1 whole and 1 yolk pp, plus one for the pot for extra creamy goodness)
150g Pecorino Romano - very finely grated
Lots of ground black pepper - quantities will be divulged in the method notes
METHOD
Cut the hard skin off the guanciale, slice it lengthways into 1cm strips and then cut into 1 cm pieces.
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for your pasta.
Add the guanciale to a cold pan and start to fry this off over a gentle heat - no need to add any oil as its fat will melt. It’s important not to cook this quickly over high heat as it won’t render the fat properly - by starting off cold and cooking over a low heat the fat will release as it slowly crisps up.
Meanwhile in a bowl add your eggs (whole and yolks) and beat well. Stir through the grated pecorino and a really decent amount of freshly cracked black pepper (depending on your tolerance and preference for pepper ~ measuring 1/2 tbsp). Set aside.
When the guanciale is nice and crisp, turn off the heat and using a slotted spoon remove the guanciale from the pan and onto a plate - reserve the fat in the pan.
Add the pasta to your boiling water and cook for approx a minute under packet instructions (just before it’s al dente).
Add the pasta directly to the pan with the guanciale fat (reserving the pasta water) taking some of the pasta water with it. Turn the heat back on the lowest flame, and allow the pasta to continue to gently cook, giving it a toss in the guanciale fat.
THIS IS WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING! You will need to move relatively quickly.
Add a 1/4-1/3 cup of the pasta water to the egg mixture and stir well until the pecorino and egg mix is nice and smooth and quite liquid, like pouring cream.
Take the pan with the pasta/guanciale off the heat, pour in the egg mix and stir, toss and mix continuously until it starts to thicken slightly and you have a stable emulsion. At this point you can put the pan back onto a low heat/flame and keep stirring/moving constantly until you’ve worked the egg mixture into a beautiful crema, similar to béchamel. It’s important to keep the sauce moving constantly as you use the heat to thicken.
Stir through the reserved guanciale before serving.
Serve immediately!! With extra black pepper and a dusting of pecorino.
Notes and troubleshooting
If you are halving this recipe for one person, use one whole egg and one yolk only (no need to add an extra yolk for the pot with this portion).
Guanciale is a cured meat made from pork jowl/cheeks. If you can’t get hold of any, substitute it for pancetta. However if you can find it at a local deli, it’s worth it.
Finely grating the cheese helps it melt deliciously smoothly with the eggs and avoids any stringy, melted cheese bits in your sauce. I used the finest, powder grade on a box grater.
Adding pasta water to the eggs before adding to the pan will essentially do the job of tempering and help you avoid a scrambled egg situation. I find this step is essential in carbonara making territory. Think of it as preparing your eggs for the heat of the pan, so they’re not “shocked” when added - effectively this helps stabilise them.
Carbonara is similar to an emulsion, where we’re combining water with fat and agitating it to form a stable sauce. And while there are a few different methods for bringing a carbonara sauce together, this is the most forgiving in my humble opinion. I prefer to add a bit more water to the eggs to create a loose cream-like consistency, before adding to the pasta, then coaxing it into a luscious crema. You can always thicken a sauce, but you can’t fix a scrambled one. This process is similar to thickening a custard or béchamel sauce, just to give you a visual.
Make sure you keep extra pasta water on hand to lend itself to the sauce as needed, if you find it’s too thick and need to loosen it.
Carbonara is best served immediately as the sauce will continue to thicken as it cools. If you are planning to serve this family style, I recommend taking it off the heat while it’s still just a touch too thin, so you don’t have a coagulated sauce when serving at the table.
