Carbonara Pasta
Serves 4 Difficulty 3/5 Ingredients 9 Steps 8
This is a wonderful dish that is very easy to do. It uses raw eggs, which are not to everyone's taste and should be avoided by pregnant women.
Ingredients
- 4 free-range eggs with large yolks
- 3 oz (65 g) fresh Italian pancetta, cubed into ¼–⅜-inch (0.64–0.95 cm) pieces
- 1 sprig of fresh thyme, finely chopped
- ¼ small onion, finely chopped
- The minced zest of ½ a lemon
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- Grated parmigiano and/or pecorino romano cheese
- 12 oz (340 g) uncooked pasta (e.g. spaghetti or penne)
Steps
- Cook desired quantity of pasta.
- Separate egg yolks from whites. Keep yolks in large bowl. Reserve whites for other use. Remove any white remaining on yolks.
- Fry pancetta in dry frying pan over lowish heat until crispy.
- Drain pancetta. Cool a few minutes to avoid cooking the eggs. Combine with yolks in large bowl.
- Add pinch of rock-salt and very generous ground pepper.
- Add lemon zest, chopped thyme, and a small amount of Parmigiano.
- Drain pasta in colander. Cool slightly, count to 10. Add to bowl.
- Mix with wooden spoon. Sprinkle remaining Parmigiano on top. Serve immediately.
Notes from the original
- For the pancetta, don't buy the ready cubed stuff, but the fresh, Italian version with a little cracked pepper on the rind. If you really can't find it, smoked bacon will do.
- Use yolks as fresh and yellow as possible!
- If you want to add a little chopped flat-leaf parsley (not the curly stuff) to add colour, go ahead.
- Served with a simple green salad, it's delicious.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Carbonara Pasta” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2026-03-23, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.