Spaghetti Carbonara with Guanciale and Pecorino
Egg yolks and pecorino turned silky by hot pasta water, no cream anywhere near it.
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Written
Notes
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and drop in the spaghetti.
Render the guanciale in a cold skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it’s crisp at the edges and has left a pool of fat in the pan. Take the pan off the heat.
Whisk the egg yolks, whole eggs, and pecorino together in a bowl until it forms a thick paste, then beat in a generous amount of black pepper.
When the spaghetti is a minute short of al dente, lift it straight from the pot into the skillet with the guanciale, along with a splash of its cooking water, and toss over low heat until the strands are glossy and coated in fat.
Take the skillet off the heat entirely, pour in the egg mixture, and toss fast and constantly, adding pasta water a splash at a time, until the sauce turns creamy and clings to the noodles rather than clumping or turning grainy.
Plate immediately with more pecorino and pepper on top.
The whole dish lives or dies on that last step — the eggs need enough residual heat to thicken into a sauce, but a hot pan will scramble them into curds in seconds. Off the heat, moving pasta water, and confidence are the three ingredients nobody lists. Pancetta will work if guanciale isn’t around, but it’s leaner and lacks the same sweetness once it’s crisped.