Oceania Cruises Cooking Challenge: Spaghetti Alla Carbonara Recipe

This is quite possibly my favorite recipe in the world, so what better dish to share with you for our Oceania Cruises Cooking Challenge? To me, spaghetti alla carbonara is comfort, family and love. It seems like the perfect dish for the times we’ve found ourselves in.

As part of an Italian-American family, I grew up making spaghetti alla carbonara with my mom and the Italian side of the family that emigrated from Fraine, Italy. In fact, my relationship with this classic Roman dish has been evolving and changing ever since. Growing up, we used the ingredients available to us – linguini or spaghetti, thick-cut bacon, whole eggs, parmesan cheese and ground black pepper. Years later when I moved to Rome, I learned how it’s traditionally prepared and came to appreciate this dish from a different perspective, learning about guanciale (the jowl of the pig vs pancetta or bacon, which is the belly), the importance of pecorino cheese in Rome’s region of Lazio and using egg yolks versus whole eggs.

I adjust the preparation of the dish for my audience. For example, my family is used to a certain pasta shape, bacon and the flavor of just using parmesan cheese. It was not a hit with guanciale and pecorino. It was a bit overpowering for their palates. When making it for my fellow chef friends, I search out the traditional Roman ingredients and make it as close to the tradition as possible. When living in Rome, the other cooks and I would have contests over whose carbonara was best, playing with the ratio of egg yolks to whole eggs and ratio of Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano with the Pecorino. I also started experimenting with tempering the eggs with some of the guanciale fat to keep them from scrambling.

Below, I’m sharing with you The Culinary Center’s favorite Spaghetti Alla Carbonara recipe with a set of my top tips below the recipe. I’ve also included substitutions to make it easier for everyone to join in. One important thing that has remained constant over the years is never, ever use cream. If you do, it’s not carbonara. It may be delicious, but it becomes a different dish.

I can’t wait to hear about your adventures with this carbonara recipe and see photos of the amazing results. Without further ado, let’s get cooking!

SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA
SERVES 4

• 14 ounces guanciale lardons (or pancetta or thick-cut smoked bacon)
• 1 pound dried spaghetti (or bucatini, rigatoni or linguine)
• 3 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (or Pecorino Romano, Grana Padano or a combination of Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano-Reggiano)
• 3 tablespoons freshly grated Pecorino Romano
• 4 egg yolks, room temperature (you can experiment with this a bit as I’ve noted above – some like to use 2 whole eggs, egg whites included, instead)
• Freshly ground black pepper

In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, sear the guanciale (or pancetta or bacon), stirring occasionally, until the fat is rendered and the pork is crispy, about 6 to 8 minutes. Reserve warm.

Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a vigorous boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente. Meanwhile, warm a large serving bowl with hot water. Just before the pasta is finished cooking, discard the water in the bowl. Add the guanciale, cheeses and egg yolks to the bowl and whisk to combine. Using tongs, transfer the pasta to the bowl and toss to combine. Add pasta water if needed to smooth out the sauce. Season to taste with pepper and serve immediately.

Noelle’s Tips for Perfect Carbonara

• Dried pasta works better for this dish. Traditionally, bucatini or rigatoni is used. My family used linguine or spaghetti.
• It’s an à la minute dish, but you can shorten the prep time by rendering the fat from the guanciale, pancetta or bacon the night before. Make sure the pork is crispy. After you sear off the pork, drain on a paper towel, let fat cool and reserve. If you reserve overnight in the refrigerator, you must make sure that it comes to room temperature before using and whisk with egg yolks, cheese, pepper.
• The trickiest part of this recipe is learning how to avoid scrambling the eggs. Through my travels, cooking in various Italian restaurants and experimenting at home, I found one way to help reduce the chances of scrambling the eggs is to take some of the pork fat from the pan and whisk just enough fat to coat the room temperature egg yolks. Then add the cheese, freshly ground pepper, the rest of the pork fat and small amount of pasta water (be careful not to add too much pasta water or the eggs will still scramble). Then, you can incorporate egg and cheese mixture into the hot pasta (off the direct heat of the stove).
• The addition of reserved, hot pasta water at the end is important to get the creamy consistency in the dish.
• With such a simple dish, each ingredient plays an integral role in this recipe: taste the cheese and cooked pork for level of intensity and saltiness, note the color of egg yolks for richness and grind black pepper with a pepper mill.
• When you think the dish is ready to serve, taste it – of course – and add a touch more black pepper. You should be able to taste the pepper in this dish. What better marriage than pasta and cheese with bacon and eggs?!

Don’t forget to share photos of your results on our Facebook page’s recipe post by using the hashtag #OLifeCookingChallenge and stay tuned for more of our favorite Oceania Cruises recipes! Take care and be well.

About Senior Chef Instructor Noelle Barille
An intrepid traveler, Chef Noelle Barille brings her extensive knowledge of world cuisines to the kitchen. She is one of The Culinary Center’s founding faculty members and has left a discernible imprint on our popular cooking classes and Culinary Discovery Tours™. Chef Noelle is a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America and is certified by the American Culinary Federation at the ProChef II level. She has cultivated her passion for sustainable cooking on the farms in Italy, in the kitchens of the Bay area and amongst the pasta masters of Rome. When she is not on board, Chef Noelle spends time cooking for her extensive – and very fortunate – Italian family in her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin.

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