Carbonara is one of those recipes that it’s worth doing properly – good quality ingredients, carefully cooked. It is also very rich. Instead of my usual 110-120g of dry pasta per serving, 100g per person is plenty with carbonara.
I always make spaghetti carbonara with linguine, preferring the way that the slightly thicker, flatter linguine strands become cloaked in sauce.
Spaghetti carbonara
(serves 4)
- 400g spaghetti (or linguine)
- 2 Tb olive oil
- 4 shallots, finely chopped
- 100g pancetta, cubed
- 2 egg yolks
- 350ml double cream
- 100g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- Heat a large pot of salted water and cook the pasta.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Cook the shallots until they start to soften.
- Add the pancetta and fry until crisp. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Whisk the egg yolks and cream in a bowl until frothy, then beat in half the cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
- When the pasta is cooked, drain and add to the frying pan with the pancetta and shallots. Place over a low heat, and stir to combine.
- Pour in the cream mixture, and stir it through the pasta until it thickens and clings to the pasta.
- Remove from the heat and serve, sprinkled with the reserved Parmesan.
Ten More Bites 
Andrea I am a new subscriber and a terrible cook. My friend Carol recognizing my limitations persuaded me to take an Italian cooking course at the University of BC in January. I took the plunge. Then she connected me to your blog to show me what good Italian cooking looks like and if I follow the recipe which you provide it’s possible to take me from terrible to terrific. Thank you for giving me hope.
Ciao,
Bruce
Thanks for subscribing, Bruce. I’d be delighted if my recipes can play a part in your cooking journey!