Spaghetti alla Carbonara

| By: Daniel Crotty |

Spaghetti alla Carbonara is a smooth and silky pasta dish composed of five major ingredients and originating in its most modern form from the center of the Italian peninsula, specifically Rome. Carbonara is a close, slightly heavier cousin to the Italian culinary pillar, pasta alla gricia.

Ingredients

Yield: 3-4 servings

• 1/4 lb of salted cured pork, cubed (pancetta or guanciale work best)

• ½ cup of Pecorino-Romano cheese

• 3 large eggs

• 1 egg yolk

• 1 box of DeCecco dried spaghetti

• Fresh ground black pepper

Cooking Instructions

1. Combine eggs, egg yolk and cheese into a large mixing bowl and whisking together until relatively homogenous.

2. Fry the cubed salted pork in a skillet on medium-low heat until the fat has rendered and the pork has browned. Remove from heat

3. Boil a pot of water, seasoned with not a little salt to the point of seawater and add your pasta for roughly 8-10 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente.

4. Reserve ¼ cup of the pasta water (liquid gold) and drain the pasta.

5. Combine the cooked pasta and cubed pork to the bowl containing the egg and cheese and vigorously stir while incrementally adding the hot pasta water to create and emulsification of cheese, egg, pork fat and pasta water, building a delicious and silky carbonara sauce.

6. Plate and enjoy!