Authentic Italian Pasta Carbonara. The smell of sizzling bacon, the golden egg yolks creamy sauce combined with Pecorino romano that coat the spaghetti, all topped with freshly crushed black pepper are the ingredient of one of the most traditional Italian dishes! This recipe is perfectly smooth and creamy without addition of cream, butter or oil. In Italy, authentic carbonara means no cream. Pasta alla Carbonara is a scrumptious dish you can make when you need something comforting, tasty but extremely uncomplicated! Simple ingredients are the secret for this classic Italian pasta recipe.

But what is carbonara? Carbonara is a silky creamy egg and pecorino cheese sauce with crispy guanciale ( aka pork jowl or pancetta or bacon) combined with al dente pasta and sprinkled with fresh cheese and black pepper. This meal is all you need to satisfy your pasta cravings. This recipe is quick to prepare in your own kitchen, but like all simple Italian recipes there are a few secrets to master it to perfection.

WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS RECIPE

– Carbonara pasta is one of the authentic Italian recipes from the eternal city of Rome along with amatriciana and cacio e pepe!

– This Authentic carbonara recipe is ready in less than 30 minutes from start to finish. It’s comfort food at its best!

– Pasta alla Carbonara is an easy 20 minute restaurant worthy meal you can make on a weeknight!It takes less time to eat than it does to cook…literally!

WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS OF CARBONARA?

The origins of the traditional carbonara recipe are a bit obscure, but what is certain is that this recipe is from the Lazio region. This dish is one of a series of dishes where pasta is tossed with bacon, pecorino and black pepper. If gricia is the first thing that comes to mind, there is a pasta cacio e uova, which is considered a precursor to carbonara. What does carbonara mean? The name derives from carbonaro, which means coal miners in Rome dialect. It seems in fact that it was a hearty meal created for the miners of the Apennine area in Lazio. Other theories trace the name back to the restaurant La Carbonara in Rome, which has been serving this recipe since 1912, and it remains a Roman institution today.

The name of this dish appeared first in 1950 in La Stampa, an Italian newspaper, which described it as a dish sought by the American soldiers after the liberation of Rome in 1944. It was described as a “Roman dish” at a time when many Italians were eating eggs and bacon supplied by troops from the United States.

AUTHENTIC PASTA CARBONARA RECIPE INGREDIENTS

The list of ingredients to make authentic spaghetti alla carbonara is very short and I am sure you have already all of them! Make sure you chose high quality ingredients!

PASTA: I must confess that I love long shape pasta and definitely this recipe is perfect with spaghetti. You can sub spaghetti with linguine or fettuccine. Short pasta shape is also good, especially if you have children as it makes it easier to for them to eat it. Fusilli or rigatoni are my recommendations as this shape will collect better the egg mixture sauce and the bacon bits.

GUANCIALE: if you want to make carbonara in the most traditional way you nedd to use recipes guanciale or pork jowl. This meat cut is cured for longer time and it has a higher content of fat, which contributes to its mouthwathering flavor. The fat will dissolve, and you will not even need to add any other fat such as oil, butter or heavy cream. Can I use bacon or pancetta? Definitely you can! Since in the US Guanciale or Pancetta are hard to find, you can go for a high quality cut bacon. If you live in a city with an Eataly store, go there as usually they have guanciale.

EGGS: use fresh farm egg, I use just egg yolks. Can you use the whole eggs? Yes you can use whole eggs or a mixture of whole egg and yolks. Whole eggs will make the sauce a bit lighter.

PECORINO: when it come to this classic Italian recipe I use the real thing, which is Pecorino cheese, the classic cheese from the Rome area. Can I use Parmigiano Reggiano? If you do not have Pecorino, you can sub it with Parmesan cheese.

If you want to add some greens, I recommend zucchini, peas or spinach. If you are vegetarian, remove the bacon and substitute it with your favorite vegetable. Eggplants and portobello mushroom have a quite meaty texture, that will make a great vegetarian carbonara.

MY TIPS ON HOW TO MAKE AUTHENTIC ITALIAN PASTA CARBONARA

These are the steps to make a real carbonara pasta Italian-style!

1. USE HIGH QUALITY INGREDIENTS: Especially for pasta and guanciale or bacon. Simple recipes succeed better when executed with good ingredients.

2. EGGS AT ROOM TEMPERATURE. Take the eggs out of the refrigerator at least 20 minutes ahead of time. If the eggs are at room temperature, they will spread better.

3. Use a cast-iron skillet or non-stick frying pan to FRY THE PORK JOWL OR BACON cut in strips. AVOID USING ANY BUTTER, EVOO or ANY OTHER OIL TO SIZZLE YOUR BACON. THE FAT RELEASED FROM THE BACON WILL BE ENOUGH TO TOSS THE PASTA.

4. After frying the pancetta, guanciale, or bacon REMOVE IT AND SET ASIDE SO THAT IT STAYS CRISPY.

5. MIX THE EGGS WITH PECORINO CHEESE: in a large mixing bowl whisk the egg yolk with the pecorino. USE SOME PRESERVED PASTA COOKING WATER TO DILUTE THE SAUCE. THE PASTA WATER WILL CONTRIBUTE TO TRANSFORMING THE SAUCE INTO A CREAMY VELVETY SAUCE WITH NO ADDITION OF CREAM!

6. ADD THE PASTA AL DENTE TO THE PAN WHERE YOU FRIED THE BACON, ADD MORE RESERVED PASTA WATER AND TOSS FOR 2 MINUTES. The pasta water act as a binder and it will help dissolving those scrumptious bacon bits!

7. SWITCH OFF THE HEAT. This is the most important step and where most people mess up with this recipe.

8. FINALLY, ADD THE CREAMY EGG AND CHEESE SAUCE. The residual heat of the pasta is enough to cook the egg, without turning your sauce into lumps. Toss until everything is combined!

9. ADD THE BACON YOU SET ASIDE.

10. SERVE IT IN INDIVIDUAL PLATE AND AS WE SAY IN ITALIAN BUON APPETITO! SPRINKLE MORE PECORINO AND BLACK PEPPER ON TOP!

MORE DELICIOUS ITALIAN PASTA RECIPES FOR YOU

AUTHENTIC CACIO E PEPE

AUTHENTIC ITALIAN AMATRICIANA SAUCE

SPAGHETTI AGLIO OLIO E PEPERONCINO

PENNE ALL’ ARRABBIATA (PASTA WITH SPICY TOMATO SAUCE)

PASTA ALLA NORMA

Spaghetti Carbonara with a black background

SPAGHETTI CARBONARA SERVING SUGGESTIONS

Pasta alla carbonara is a great main pasta dish for those evenings when you’re craving a comfort food or are so tired after a long day that you want something quick, easy, yet delicious.

Carbonara is best served immediately, while it is hot and creamy. I do not recommend to make more pasta than the one you plan to eat as in fact leftover pasta will not hold the creaminess of the sauce: the egg will cook in the reheating process and the sauce will become thick and you definitely do not want to miss that creaminess!

WHAT WINE TO PAIR WITH SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA?

Since this is a pasta from Rome, I recommend a wine from the Lazio Region. Malvasia-Trebbiano is the most popular wine and its note of each and lemon, along with a bitter almond note and minerality from the regional volcano cuts well through the richness of the pasta.

Another good wine pairing for Pasta Carbonara is a Soave from the Veneto region, it has similar notes to the Malvasia Trebbiano and is produced on the hillside of Verona.

I hope this Authentic Italian Pasta Carbonara will become one of your favorite family meals! If you make it don’t forget to leave a STAR rating and review. I can’t wait to hear from you!