Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Spaghetti alla carbonara (literally "charcoal burners' spaghetti" in Italian) is an Italian pasta dish made with eggs, pecorino romano, guanciale and black pepper. It was created in the middle of the 20th century. Like most recipes, the origins of the dish are obscure but there are many legends. As 'carbonara' literally means 'coal miner's wife', some believe that the dish was first made as a hearty meal for Italian…
Ingredients
- 450 g (1 pound) spaghetti
- 225–500 g (½–1 pound) guanciale or pancetta
- 5 egg yolks
- 178 ml (¾ cup) grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 178 ml (¾ cup) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 3–4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ tablespoon freshly-ground pepper
- Salt
Steps
- Dice guanciale or pancetta into 2.5 cm (1-inch) pieces.
- Bring big pot of water to boil. Add salt to taste when it begins to simmer.
- Cook spaghetti until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup water.
- While spaghetti cooks, heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pancetta. Cook about 10 minutes over low flame until most fat is rendered, pancetta still chewy and barely browned.
- Slowly whisk about ½ cup pasta water into egg yolks in bowl. Add grated cheese. Mix thoroughly with fork.
- Strain spaghetti. Transfer immediately to skillet with pancetta. Toss. Turn off heat.
- Add egg and cheese mixture while stirring in remaining pasta water to thin sauce and emulsify.
- Add pepper. Toss to coat pasta.
Notes from the original
- Ideally this dish is served with a red wine (Merlot, Chianti, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo), allowed to decant for several hours, and served at 65°F (18°C).
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Spaghetti alla Carbonara” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2026-06-13, 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.
Photo. Spaghetti alla Carbonara (Madrid).JPG by Tamorlan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia. Resized; otherwise unchanged.





