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Traditional carbonara

Authentic Roman carbonara features silky egg yolk sauce coating al dente pasta with crispy guanciale and sharp pecorino. The perfect balance of richness, salt, and pepper makes this a timeless classic.

dinner
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Nonna Maria
Nonna Maria's Tips

Traditional carbonara is Roman dry pasta coated in a silky emulsion of egg yolks, Pecorino Romano, guanciale fat and black pepper, with no cream or extra flavorings.

  • Replace most or all of the Grana Padano in your current recipe with Pecorino Romano PDO to align more closely with Roman practice and intensify the sheep’s milk flavor.

  • Use only guanciale as the cured pork; avoid pancetta or bacon unless absolutely necessary, and then treat them as substitutions rather than authentic ingredients.

Avoid

  • ⚠

    Adding cream to the egg and cheese, which Italians see as a foreign restaurant trick that hides poor technique

  • ⚠

    Using garlic or onion in the soffritto, viewed as unnecessary and overpowering for a Roman pasta

Ingredients

0/6 gathered
Serves 4

10 oz Spaghettoni

7 oz Guanciale

4 piece Egg yolks

0.9 oz Grana Padano PDO cheese

3 oz Pecorino Romano PDO cheese

0.1 oz Black pepper

Preparation

0/8 steps
1
Trim guanciale removing rind and peppered edges to prevent burning. Cut into 5mm cubes. Cook in cold pan over medium heat for 8-10 minutes until pink-gold and crispy, rendering its fat.
2
Remove guanciale from heat, keeping all rendered fat in the pan - you'll need 2-3 tablespoons for the sauce.
3
Boil water with minimal salt (pecorino is salty). Cook spaghettoni until al dente. Meanwhile, grate 25g Grana Padano and 90g Pecorino Romano into a steel bowl. Add 4 egg yolks.
4
Add freshly ground black pepper. Whisk vigorously, then add 1 ladle pasta water. Create a bain-marie by placing bowl over pasta pot with a ladle creating a gap for steam to escape.
5
Whisk continuously, adding 1 ladle guanciale fat. Heat to 149°F/150°F - test by drawing a line through mixture with spatula; it should hold without running.
6
Drain pasta directly into egg mixture off heat. Toss vigorously with tongs for 1-2 minutes, adding pasta water until silky. Add guanciale, toss again. Serve immediately topped with reserved guanciale, pecorino, and black pepper.
7
Drain pasta into bowl, toss continuously, add guanciale
8
Serve with extra guanciale, pecorino, and pepper