Sara loved pasta alla carbonara during the years we lived in Rome. It’s the first dish she began to cook for herself when she went away to school, even if sometimes that meant making it with bacon and cheddar cheese. It’s a great dish for anyone trying to introduce small children to the art of the kitchen. It fits a springtime pasta menu because as the days grow longer and the sun grows stronger, the chickens start to lay again and there is plenty of material for this lush Roman classic. With that in mind, you want to use the freshest eggs you can find, preferably with dark yellow yolks, from hens that are truly free to range and graze and eat the things hens love.
Bucatini is the most traditional pasta to use in this typical Roman dish, but some cooks prefer spaghetti or even—sacrilegiously—short, stubby cuts like penne or rigatoni. But never, ever, says our friend Giovanni, with linguine. Why? “Because you don’t do carbonara with linguine,” says Giovanni, in an unassailably Roman argument.
Diced guanciale, cured pork cheek, is the preferred meat in Rome, but most of us will use the more commonly available pancetta or even slab bacon—the slight smokiness of good bacon gives an added luxury to the dish.
Pasta alla carbonara is one of those lightning rods of controversy in Italy over how it is made and what is traditional, any deviation being scorned. Sara sometimes likes to add minced onion to it, but that is unacceptable in most Roman trattorie; Nancy thinks chopped parsley brightens the dish visually and in your mouth, but that disqualifies it in Roman eyes. Even the smoked bacon we suggest as an option would be frowned on in Trastevere. But these are all modifications we have made over the years because we believe they add good flavor to the dish and we don’t really like to be tied to tradition simply for tradition’s sake.
See the variation below, equally traditional, called pasta alla papalina (papish pasta), which includes spring peas and diced ham instead of the guanciale in the original.
SERVES 4 TO 6
¼ pound guanciale or pancetta, diced small (about ½ cup)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 or 5 large fresh eggs (the fresher the better)
1½ cups freshly grated pecorino romano
1½ cups freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound (500 grams) bucatini or other long, slender pasta
¼ cup finely minced flat-leaf parsley (optional)
Combine the guanciale and oil in a skillet and sauté over medium-low heat until the meat is slightly crisp and brown. When done, set aside but keep warm.
While the guanciale is cooking, beat the eggs together in a medium bowl. Combine the pecorino and parmigiano and set aside about 1 cup. Beat the rest of the cheese into the eggs.
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add salt and the pasta and cook following the directions here, until the pasta is al dente, 9 to 10 minutes.
While the pasta is cooking, get ready a warm serving bowl—ladle in some of the pasta cooking water to heat it.
As the pasta finishes cooking, have everything lined up and ready so you can act fast: colander in the sink, skillet with guanciale, bowl with eggs and cheese, warm bowl for serving pasta.
Okay, now: Acting quickly, set the skillet with guanciale back over medium heat, add a small ladleful (about ½ cup) of the pasta water, and bring to a simmer. Empty the hot water out of the serving bowl. Drain the pasta in the colander and immediately turn it into the heated bowl. Straight away, immediately, pour the egg mixture over the pasta, followed by the guanciale and its liquids. Start turning the pasta, over and over, vigorously, using two big spoons or a serving fork and spoon—the heat of the pasta and the guanciale mixture will slightly cook the eggs so that they thicken and coat the pasta well. Finally, sprinkle with a couple of spoonsful of the reserved grated cheeses, a lot of freshly ground pepper, and the minced parsley (if using). Serve immediately, passing the remaining cheeses to be added at the table.
VARIATION Fettuccine alla papalina is basically a carbonara to which fresh sweet spring peas, cooked in butter with a little minced onion, and diced cooked ham (not raw prosciutto) are added. Toss the peas and ham with the pasta just before adding the final grated cheese and pepper.