Spaghetti alla Carbonara
by David Leite
Serves 4

Alla carbonara means "in the manner of the coal miner" (or the coal miner's wife). According to legend, the dish was popular with miners because the few ingredients could easily be carried or, in the case of eggs, pocketed from henhouses on the way to work. When appetites knocked, a simple campfire in the woods was all that was needed to make an elegant meal. The liberal use of pepper is considered a modern-day metaphor for the specks of coal that would inevitably drop from the miners' clothing onto the plates of pasta.

1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring often, until it's crisp. Set the pan aside.

2. Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil. Add the salt and the spaghetti and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving the 3/4 cup of pasta water, and return the pasta while it's very hot to the pan, set over very low heat. Immediately add the eggs, half the cheese, the reserved pancetta and any rendered fat, and toss well. Add just enough of the pasta water to make the mixture creamy. Sprinkle liberally with pepper and serve at once. Pass the remaining cheese at the table.

 

[David Leite] 4.2.05
I whipped up this dish last night after not having made it in a long time. First, I forgot how quick it is; it' the perfect weekday meal. Also I discovered that by mixing together all the ingredients and letting them sit in the pot off the heat for a five minutes or so improved the quality immeasurably. The sauce thickened a bit but was still silky, and the flavors had a chance to jostle themselves into the proper relationship.

On 6.11.06 Jasmine wrote:
This is absolutely the best carbonara I've ever eaten. You must try it!

On 6.14.06 Mo wrote:
This is my favorite way to make this dish. I much prefer the simple egg sauce to other carbonara recipes that include heavy cream. We've also been known to add some cremini mushrooms to the mix once in a while.

On 6.16.06 Susan Burgess wrote:
If you are looking over all the many pasta alla carbonara recipes, trying to decide which one to make, look no more. This is the spaghetti alla carbonara recipe.

On 7.20.06 Jon B. wrote:
David, yours is the first and only recipe that I have found that does a carbonara exactly as my mother made and, of course, I now make at home, some 55 years later. I have tried in vain to get the two Italian restaurants in our small town to make it the "right way." One will take a stab at it, if they aren't too busy, which is almost never. The other is learning. I have explained several times the necessity of a small dice on the pancetta, as well as the need to render it until it is crisp. We haven't quite got that part down yet, but we'll get there. I'm going to print off your recipe to give the chef. Perhaps if he sees it in writing from an expert, he'll grasp the concept.

On 10.20.06 Marlon dela Cruz wrote:
It's my new party trick!! This is the best recipe I've tried. Very close to what I used to eat when I stayed in Italy. Pecorino adds another dimension to it. My wife loves it.

On 12.10.17 Edward Stewart wrote:
The basic descriptive history is almost there, and the inclusion of Pecorino Romano adds flavor without straying from Old World origins, but one too many eggs, IMO. One needs to keep in mind that a lot of people are turned off by the notion they may be eating undercooked eggs. I found the extra egg plus the yolk, while adding flavor, did not thoroughly cook through. I needed to bake the dish for 20 minutes before it was done, but kept the reserve pasta water to ensure it wasn't too dry. Bottom line: A little less egg, more pepper (it's not an afterthought of history but an ingredient), and the additional cheese and pasta water will get you there. Finally, too many Americans add cream, peas, and other stuff to this simple peasant dish — Mr. Leite helps to stay true to the origins and the taste.

[David Leite] 12.11.06
NOTE: By using the pasta water directly from the pot, it'll be hot enough to cook the eggs if added slowly and stirred through completely. Also, letting the dish sit on the stove a bit longer, as I mentioned above, helps, too.

On 12.07.06 Quinn wrote:
Great recipe. I added some peas at the end. Simple and sublime.

On 2.14.07 T.C.D. wrote:
I like this recipe a lot and it's one of my favorite. The taste gets a little old after a while, though.

On 2.24.07 R.C. wrote:
Would you consider changing the ratio of yolk to white? In my experience, it's the yolk that gives the sauce its creaminess, and the white that tends to clot and cause a certain lumpiness.

[David Leite] 2.27.07
R.C., yes, you certainly can change the ratio, but I find the culprit is cold-from-the-fridge eggs. Sometimes I make the dish and spoon a few teaspoons of the cooking water before it boils into the beaten eggs. It thins them out as well as raises their temperature. They blend right in with no clumps.

On 9.6.07 Dawn wrote:
My two-year-old, who doesn't eat anything but macaroni and cheese, absolutely loved this. It is going in my "keeper" stack of recipes for sure! Thank you so much.