The Real Original Carbonara Recipe | Very Gourmand

You have always prepared your pasta at Carbonara with cream and bacon and you have heard that the Italians are crying for sacrilege. To decide this debate once for all, we offer here the original carbonara recipe as realized in Rome: creamless, without onion, without mushrooms. Just pasta, eggs, guanciale, pecorino romano and pepper.

By following this method, you will understand how to get an intensely creamy sauce only thanks to the eggs, cheese and water. And above all, you will cook a real Italian carbonara whose purists would be proud.

The true original carbonara recipe (without cream!)

Reading time: ~ 8 min

Table of contents
1. Understand what makes an original carbonara recipe
2. Ingredients for a successful original carbonara recipe
3. Key steps for authentic carbonara pasta
4. Frequent errors to avoid
5. Variants tolerated by the Italians
6. FAQ on true carbonara without cream

Understand what makes an original carbonara recipe

The principles of the original carbonara recipe

To talk about original carbonara recipe, we must refer to what the Italians are actually preparing at home and in the Trattorie de Rome. All serious sources converge on some non-negotiable points.

The traditional ingredients of carbonara

A real Italian carbonara consists of five main elements: spaghetti long pasta, guanciale, pecorino romano, eggs and black pepper. No fresh cream. The creamy texture comes from the emulsion between egg yolks, grated cheese and pasta cooking water. Eggs should never blur; They must slightly wear pasta and form a kind of creamy sabayon.

The meat used is the guancian, a dried pork cheek rich in fat that will gently melt in the pan and perfume the sauce. Classic bacon are an adaptation out of Italy; They work but do not offer the same texture or the same aromatic intensity.

Cheese is the Pecorino Romano. His salty, powerful and slightly spicy taste gives all his personality to Carbonara. Some recipes add a small share of Parmesan, but the traditional pedestal remains the pecorino.

Ingredients for a successful original carbonara recipe

List of main ingredients

To realize authentic Spaghetti Alla Carbonara for 4 people, we advise you the following quantities; They can be slightly adjusted according to your appetite but respect the Italian classic equilibrium.

Choose good quality pasta with precise cooking time; Successful carbonara rests on a cooking al dente which leaves the chew. The guancale is preferred: its fat content is ideal for creating a creamy sauce. Grate the very fine pecorino so that it easily emulsifies with eggs and cooking water. Finally, use eggs at room temperature to avoid too brutal thermal shock when mixing with hot pasta.

Key steps for authentic carbonara pasta

The difference between a real carbonara and the pasta with scrambled eggs holds almost entirely in controlling the temperature. Follow this step by step, inspired by the methods of Italian leaders.

1. Prepare the ingredients

Cut the guancial into strips or small sticks of about 1 cm thick. Finely graze the Pecorino Romano. In a large salad bowl, whip the eggs with the pecorino and a good amount of black pepper until you get a dense and smooth cream.

2. Cook the guancial

Place the guancian in a cold pan then put on medium heat. Let fat melt gently without adding oil. When the edges are slightly crisp but the still fluffy heart, remove the heat pan while retaining the rendering fat.

3. Cook the pasta al dente

Wear a large volume of salt water. Cook the spaghetti one to two minutes less than the time indicated for a perfect Al dense. Before draining, take at least two saint-rich cooking water slots.

4. Create the egg–cheese–water emulsion

Pour a little lukewarm cooking water into the egg-pecorino mixture by whisking. Add the water gradually to get a shiny, thick but fluid sauce, which slightly tables the back of a spoon.

5. Assemble out of heat

Pour the spaghetti well drained into the pan containing the guancial. Heat a few moments on very soft fire to coat them up, then cut the fire. Add the egg-pecorino sauce, mix strongly. If necessary, relax with a little cooking water to the desired texture. Serve immediately with grated pecorino and a pepper mill ride.

Frequent errors to avoid

Traps to avoid with an original carbonara recipe

• Add fresh cream: it fades the taste of the pecorino and weighs the sauce.
• Use industrial bacon that make water and give a smoked taste dominant.
• Cook eggs on fire: You get scrambled eggs, the mixture must be out of the heat.
• Forgetting the cooking water: its starch is essential to bind the sauce.
• Salt excessively: Pecorino and Guancale are already salted, taste before adjusting.

Variants tolerated by the Italians

You can replace some of the pecorino with parmesan for a less salty and less spicy result, or use pancetta instead of the guancial if it can not be found.

FAQ on true carbonara without cream

Can we succeed a carbonara without experience in cooking ?

Yes I do. Observe two rules: Final mixture always off the heat and progressive addition of cooking water.

How many eggs use per person ?

Count about an egg per person, sometimes more yellows than whites for more creamy. For example: 3 yellows and 1 whole egg for 4 people.

Can we prepare the sauce in advance ?

You can whip eggs, pecorino and pepper a few hours ahead and keep cool, but the final emulsion with cooking water must be done just before serving.

Why is my carbonara sauce lumpy ?

Either the eggs have coagulated because the mixture was too hot, or it lacked cooking water to soften the sauce. Add the water little by little, mix strongly and always work out of the heat.

In summary

By replacing the original carbonara recipe at the center of the debate, this method gives back to this great Italian classic its true identity. A handful of demanding ingredients, a precise technique and respect for emblematic products such as the guancian and the pecorino are sufficient to transform simple pasta into a dish of great aromatic depth, without any cream.

To go further and choose Italian products adapted to this preparation, explore the selection of cold cuts and of cheese available on Very Gourmand.