The Ultimate Carbonara

Our take on a classic. Absolutely no cream anywhere near this dish. Pepper, smoked bacon, egg yolk, parmesan, pasta water and (maybe controversially) garlic. Stuff dreams are made of.

📝 Ingredients

• 6 Egg
• 300 g Streaky Smoked Bacon
• 75 g Pecorino Romano
• 75 g Parmesan
• 500 g Spaghetti
• 2 Garlic Clove
• Salt
• Black Pepper

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Take a bowl, and grate in your Parmesan and Pecorino (set a pinch aside for sprinkling at the end).
2. 2To the cheese, add the egg yolks (don't throw the whites, you can freeze them for meringue) and a very, very generous amount of black pepper. A good carbonara is meant to be peppery – hence the name, CARBONara. Whisk everything together and set aside.
3. 3Chop your smoked bacon into little bits, and add to a frying pan set over a medium heat.
4. 4As the bacon bits begin to brown, add your spaghetti to a large pan of boiling water. Salt the boiling water – pasta water is meant to be almost as salty as the sea!
5. 5Once the bacon is crisp, add your sliced garlic. Allow the garlic to soften – if the garlic or bacon looks like it is catching on a pan, add small spoons of the starchy pasta water.
6. 6When the pasta is 1 minute before being ready – so still quite al dente – ladle out some of the pasta water (about 1 ½ ladles for every person you're cooking for) into a bowl. Set this bowl aside.
7. 7Drain the pasta, and then pour the pasta into the pan with the bacon and the garlic. Add some of the pasta water (about ½ a ladle per person), and cook everything together over a medium heat. Once the water has evaporated and the pasta is nice and silky, take off the heat.
8. 8Allow to cool down for 1 minute, and then add the egg and parmesan mixture, and some more pasta water (about ½ a ladle per person) and mix it all together.
9. 9If it looks too thick, add a bit more water. It should be silky smooth! Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan and twist or two more of black pepper! Enjoy!