Pasta carbonara?

Does anyone have an authentic recipe for pasta carbonara? I found a box of video tapes when moving some things, and found a David Rosengarten Taste episode; 30 minutes devoted to spaghetti carbonara.

1/2 pound piece of Pancetta
4 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 large eggs
1/4 cup freshly grated Romano
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
A liberal grinding of pepper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 pound cooked spaghetti, drained and hot


Cut a 1/2 pound piece of pancetta. Crush and peel the garlic. Put the garlic in a small saute pan with the extra virgin olive oil and saute until it turns deep gold. Remove the garlic from the pan and put in the strips of pancetta. Cook them until they begin to crisp on the edges. Add the wine. Cook the wine down for 2 minutes. Break the eggs into a pasta serving bowl. Beat them lightly with a fork. Then add the Romano, Parmigiano--Reggiano, pepper and parsley. Mix thoroughly. Add drained, hot pasta to the bowl and toss rapidly to coat the strands well. Add the Pancetta and wine. Toss again and serve immediately. Yield: 4 servings


Is this authentic?




Thank you,
Jonathan

Looks good to me, i love the stuff!
You will have folks debating whether a true carbonara will have cream in it...I believe no.
I add peas in mine as well.

I use five eggs, a quarter pound of pancetta (or four strips of bacon) diced, a small onion, diced, a cup of freshly-grated Parmigiano Reggiano, a clove of garlic, olive oil, a half cup of a dry white wine, two tablespoons of chopped, flat-leaf parsley, freshly grated black pepper, and a pound of spaghetti (I use linguine). Beat the eggs in an oven-safe bowl large enough to hold all the pasta, add the grated cheese,parsley and black pepper and place the bowl on top of the stove near the burner used to bring six quarts of water to a boil. Saute the pancetta (or bacon) with the olive oil, add the onion, the garlic and the wine and, when the pancetta is cooked through, add most of the mixture (reserving some for garnish) to the bowl with the eggs and cheese, whisking everything together. Salt the boiling water and add the pasta. When the pasta is done fork it right from the water, draining as you go, into the bowl with the egg, etc. mixture. Toss to combine, garnish with the reserved mixture and serve.

No cream.

Mr Hoffman--i salute you!!--thats a killer looking recipe for Carbonara!!! Those old charcoal makers would be proud of you!

These recipes look about as authentic as any I've seen and Michael Hoffman is absolutely correct--cream is a no-no. But, I think in Italy they would not use pancetta. They would use guanciale. Pancetta is from the belly of the hog. Guanciale is cured hog CHEEKS and, until recently, was nearly impossible to obtain in the US. But now there are artisanal makers including Niman Ranch: http://www.nimanranch.com/p/881-9/c/Pork-SmokedAndCured .

Sorry, BT. Real Italian pancetta can be from pork belly OR jowl and is processed into a roll so you get very nice layers of fat and lean necessary for a tasty carbonara. You don't get that with guanciale. It is almost all fat. And if the pancetta is slightly smoked, all the better.

However, guanciale with beans is a classic Roman dish.

quote:

Originally posted by meowzart

Sorry, BT. Real Italian pancetta can be from pork belly OR jowl and is processed into a roll so you get very nice layers of fat and lean necessary for a tasty carbonara. You don't get that with guanciale. It is almost all fat. And if the pancetta is slightly smoked, all the better.

However, guanciale with beans is a classic Roman dish.

I'll give you one point. I was thinking of pasta Amatriciana, not carbonara, where the traditional ingredient is guanciale but most Americans (at least the ones who don't use regular bacon) use pancetta.

But I am quite famillar with pancetta--use it all the time, buy it several times a month. I can't tell you whether jowl is ever used to make it, but I think such a thing would be rare even in Italy and I haven't been able to find any references to making it that way. Have you?

Bucatini all'Amatriciana
Serves 4

3/4 to 1 pound guanciale, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large yellow onion, sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 28 oz can of imported Italian tomatoes
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper, to taste

1 pound bucatini pasta
1/2 cup Pecorino-Romano cheese, grated


1. Start a large pot of boiling water for the pasta.

2. In a large frying-pan over medium heat, cook guanciale until crisp and then drain on paper towels. Watch carefully as it's easy to burn the guanciale.

3. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat then add the olive oil. Adjust heat to medium-high and add the onions when the oil is hot. Cook onions until golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute longer. Add the canned tomatoes and pepper flakes and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper (salt may not be needed as the guanciale is pretty salty). I sometimes add a pinch of sugar if the tomatoes don't taste sweet enough.

4. Cook pasta for 10-12 minutes, or until al dente, while the sauce is simmering. Warm bowls or plates for the pasta--this dish is best eaten while piping hot.

5. Drain the pasta and then toss it with the sauce. Add the cooked guanciale and the cheese and toss again. Serve immediately in warmed bowls.

Dearfolk,
If Calvin Trillin likes it, it's gotta be good.
Fairly Waisting Away, Ort. Carlton in 30601-land.

quote:

Originally posted by BT
But I am quite famillar with pancetta--use it all the time, buy it several times a month. I can't tell you whether jowl is ever used to make it, but I think such a thing would be rare even in Italy and I haven't been able to find any references to making it that way. Have you?

Nothing in writing. Just from talking to the nonna that ran the agriturismo farm we stayed at near Modena.

Carbonara does not have wine or parsley, and the garlic step is totally unnecessary. The eggs are better when you use only the yolks, not the whites. use one yolk per 1/4 lb. of pasta. Save a cup of hot pasta water to control the sauce. Cheese is Parm plus Pecorino. Fresh cracked black pepper is a must. In the states you'll use pancetta, the fattier the better, and get it cut thick from the deli, say 1/4-1/3" thick and then dice up.

Use spaghetti or smaller sized Rigatoni (like Tortiglioni) with ridges not smooth surface. Penne is not used so much.

The dish is served in Rome, all over the place.

Absolutely no cream.....use hot pasta water.

my mom always make pasta carbonara this way. no cream. so good. i make it for my family now.
tons of boiling salted water to cook 1 package of spagetti in

1/2 to 1 # bacon chopped
olive oil
black pepper freshly ground
parmesean cheese the more freshly ground the better
3 eggs, beaten well

fry bacon until crispy in olive oil(!just a bit)
"freely pepper"
when pasta is cooked, quickly drain, leaving kindof damp, return to pasta pot
toss in bacon, not drained, and drizzle in eggs tossing the spagetti all the time. ( the heat from the noodles /bacon cooks the eggs in ot a " sauce")
pepper and cheese can be passed at the table...

my kids looove this. we call it bacon and egg spagetti
for them.

Hi
My first post to this forum!

The best carbonara I've ever had was in (of all places)
*Ireland*! Does that make it off topic?

I don't know if it had cream in it, but it was very cremey.
I think it had mushrooms and peas and they used Irish bacon,
which is like ham.

Looking forward to more foodie exchanges!