Of all the pasta dishes, if I had to pick THE ONE…you know, the one pasta dish for the “last meal,” it would be carbonara. Done well, it is the most decadent, beautifully silky smooth pasta dish ever.

This recipe is based on a Saveur magazine recipe and came with lots of information about its Roman roots. This makes me love it even more.

In the Saveur article, they wrote about how Italians might use the most perfect Guanciale rather than the pancetta I used here. And they wrote about how they might source organic eggs from chickens fed goat milk for a slight almond flavor. And they wrote about how they might combine two cheeses native to Italy.

For our version, Cait and I cooked together and we used Parmigiano Reggiano. The eggs were store bought (how I long for the farmer’s markets!), the Pancetta was sliced very thinly before cooking and I used a beautiful bucatini, a hollow pasta imported from Italy.

What a treat this dish is. This particular method is also great. There are many ways to make carbonara. Mario Batali is one of my favorite chefs and he makes the dish and then cracks an egg in each bowl before serving, leaving the diner to mix the hot pasta and the egg yolk. I love this method. After sauteeing the pancetta in the olive oil, making sure it is nicely browned (so it is not soggy later on), you put it in a large bowl and cool it down. To this, you’ll add the egg, egg yolks, parmigiano reggiano and make a paste. Then just add the hot pasta which cooks the eggs and makes a velvety sauce as you coat the pasta, adding the pasta water as needed to keep it moist and creamy.

This must be eaten immediately for full, rich effect.

I wish I could say this photo was mine, but it is from Saveur magazine. We were so into making this, and so into how delicious it all was that I didn’t take ONE photo!

I love when you are so enjoying the cooking process that you forget about the blog! Something tells me that’s the way it is supposed to be.

The Recipe:

4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
4 oz. thinly sliced guanciale or pancetta cut
into 1⁄2″ pieces
2 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper, plus more
to taste
1 1/2 cups finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 egg plus 3 yolks
Kosher salt, to taste
1 lb. spaghetti (go for a hearty Italian pasta if possible)

1. Heat the olive oil and add the pancetta, cooking until nicely browned (this will avoid the soggy pancetta later on). Add the pepper and cook it until it is fragrant, you’ll smell the pepper when it’s done after 2 minutes or less (being careful not to burn it). Put this mixture in a large bowl and cool it down for about 10 minutes.

2. Cook the pasta in a pot of boiling salted water, just until al dente. Reserve one cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta.

3. Now stir in the Parmigiano and the egg and the egg yolks into the cooled pancetta mixture and stir it into a paste.

4. Add the hot pasta, stirring well to coat the pasta and adding pasta water a little at a time to make a creamy sauce. You may only need 3/4 cup, this depends on how creamy you like the pasta to be. Season with salt and pepper; serve with extra Parmigiano on the side.

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