Are you looking for a traditional recipe for Pasta Carbonara? You have come to the right place! I think you will find that my recipe for a traditional and authentic pasta carbonara will care of all your needs. I like to visit my favorite restaurants when developing my recipes. So in this case, that would be my favorite local Italian Restaurants. My thinking is that I try to figure out what I like or do not like in their recipe and adapt those thoughts to my dish.

Next, I will review recipes from my collection of books and search through the internet. When coming up with an authentic and traditional recipe, it was very easy for Pasta Carbonara. The reality is that there are only 5 significant ingredients in the traditional version based on what I found; Guanciale, Pecorino-Romano cheese, Eggs, Pasta, and Pepper.

What is Guanciale?

You may ask, what is guanciale? Guanciale comes from the cheek or jowls of the pig and is a typical ingredient in this dish.

Can you use Pancetta or Bacon? Or maybe Parmigiano-Reggiano instead of Pecorino-Romano?

Are Substitutes OK?

You absolutely can substitute and adjust your ingredients based on what you have on hand and you will still love the dish. However, a dish does not gather a following enough to be called traditional unless it has proved over time that it has deserved it. This is one of those recipes.

You could certainly add some other ingredients such as cream or maybe some peas. But you would not have what is considered to be a traditional pasta carbonara.

For me, it’s what makes you happy and what tastes best to me. Some people like cilantro…some say it tastes like soap (for example). I say experiment and get inspired.

People say, how did achieve such a creamy sauce in your pasta? Definitely not from adding cream. It’s due to some heavy-duty stirring between the eggs, guanciale, and cheese. You might add a tiny bit of pasta water to help your sauce if needed, but there is nothing else you have to add.

I hope you enjoy it! Make sure you leave some comments and let me know how your dish turns out! As always, thanks for Spending Time in My Kitchen!

**Stirring together the guanciale, cheese and pasta**

Pasta Carbonara

5 from 1 vote

Recipe by David Frank – Spending Time In My Kitchen

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Ingredients

12 oz 12 Box bucatini
4 4 Eggs
8 oz 8 Guanciale, pancetta, bacon
1 cup 1 Pecorino Romano, or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 tsp 2 Pepper
Kosher salt, to taste

Directions

Cook Your Pasta
Put a pot of water on the stove. Let it come to a boil.
Add salt to your water. You want the water to taste like the sea. The salt will give your pasta some flavor. It’s always important to salt your pasta water. Don’t forget!
Add your pasta to the water and stir so that it does not stick.
Cook Your Guanciale
Dice your guanciale into 1/2 inch cubes. Sauté over medium heat to render the fat until it is almost cooked. Set aside when complete.
Prepare Your Sauce
Mix eggs in a very large bowl.
Add cheese and pepper to the eggs. Stir and combine completely.
Drain pasta; put pasta back into pasta pot (Keep some pasta water in case you need to use it to thicken your sauce.)
Add bacon to pasta and mix well. Heat all ingredients on a medium heat for a few minutes to ensure everything is warm. Stir while you are heating the pasta.
Pour pasta and bacon into to eggs and mix very well. Serve immediately.
Enjoy!!