So Valentine’s Day is upon us. I’m not going to get into it, because I’m the food person, not the relationships person. My guess is that most people will fall into three camps today:
1) You’re dining alone
2) You’re dining with a special person, or
3) You don’t care because it’s just another day, and why do we need a special day to feed the greeting card/chocolate/flowers/cinnamon hearts industrial machine and make single people feel like total garbage while really you should just show people you love them every day and…
…oh, there it is, I just got into it. Splat. My feelings about Valentine’s Day. Totally unoriginal, I know — but that’s why I’m the food person.
The great news is that, whatever camp you fall into, you can make this pasta carbonara tonight in no time flat and it still feels like an impressive, extravagant treat. The recipe can be adjusted to make enough for two, for a group, or for a solitary single (and if that’s you, take comfort, because this is exactly the kind of dish that you want to savour alone, in a corner, with nobody watching you, and you’re probably wearing sweatpants. That’s right, go ahead: Treat. Yo. Self).
Fortunately for me (and all of you!), the food blogosphere has pretty much beaten to death the debate about how to make a perfect, authentic carbonara, with a big, judgy Internet stick. There are some well-accepted ground rules by now, so I will summarize to give you a glimpse into the world of entitled digital foodsters:
- 1. There’s no cream in carbonara. If you suggest putting cream in your carbonara, people will flame the crap out of you and ban your food blog forever. The creaminess comes from a few key ingredients: pork fat rendered from the guanciale, eggs (added at the very last minute and cooked from the residual heat of the pasta), and cheese. Like, a lot of cheese.
- 2. There are ONLY the following ingredients in carbonara: guanciale (pancetta is an acceptable substitute), olive oil (if you must), spaghetti, eggs, parmigiano reggiano, salt and fresh ground black pepper. Obviously I do not subscribe to this rule, since I like putting things like peas, or fresh garlic scapes, in my carbonara (as pictured above). I also like it with fettuccine or linguine, and tossing it with parsley at the end. Others will add a pinch of nutmeg, or brown a clove of garlic in the pork fat. But if you’re a purist, you can stick with only the key ingredients and you won’t be disappointed.
- 3. Avoid over-salting. People often forget how salty cured pork can be, especially when the salty fat is rendered out and tossed in with the pasta, eggs and cheese. Cheese is also mad salty. Compound that with any salt you add to your pasta water (we’ll get to that later), and any salt you add on at the end to taste, and you risk making your dish inedible. All that to say: careful with the salt!
- 4. Avoid scrambling your eggs. The key to making a successful carbonara is to ensure you add the egg mixture to hot pasta and let the noodles cook the eggs, not the pan.You want a smooth, silky sauce with no detectable egg curds. There are various methods to this; many recommend only using egg yolks, or using some of the pasta water mixed in first to temper the egg and cheese mix, or starting with room temperature eggs. Others suggest transferring the hot pasta to a mixing bowl with the eggs and tossing there, avoiding a hot pan altogether. You can do what you think works best, but I find the method here (letting the pan cool while pasta cooks, tempering the egg mixture with some pasta water, then heaping the pasta into the warm pan and pouring the egg mixture over top of the pasta, does the trick — and it’s one less dish to wash).
Pasta carbonara
Serves 4*
1 lb long pasta (spaghetti, linguine or fettucine all work well)
250 grams guanciale or pancetta, diced (thick cut bacon works too)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, smashed
4 egg yolks
1 ¼ cups grated parmigiano, pecorino, romano or grana padano cheese (or a combination)
Handful chopped flat-leaf parsley
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
*To reduce portions, simply cut the recipe in half, or in quarters; a rule of thumb is one yolk per person, and approximately equal volume of grated cheese. This doesn’t reheat very well so best to just eat it all as soon as you make it!
1. Put a large pot of water on to boil for the pasta.
2. In a large skillet (big enough to hold the pasta), heat the olive oil and guanciale on medium-low heat, cooking until guanciale is cooked and slightly browned at edges. Add the clove of garlic and cook for a minute or two until it is lightly browned. Pour off excess fat (you still want to leave at least 3 tbsp of the rendered pork fat in the pan). Remove from heat and allow the pan to cool.
3. While the guanciale is browning, prep your remaining ingredients: mix the egg yolks and cheese together in a small mixing bowl, whisking to remove clumps, and set aside. Prepare serving bowls (warming them if you like). Chop parsley. You want everything ready as once the pasta is ready you will need to move quickly.
4. When pasta is nearing completion, ladle out about a cup or two of the pasta water. Add about 3 or 4 tablespoons of the pasta water to the egg mixture, whisking quickly. This will help avoid curdling when you combine the ingredients.
5. Once pasta is al dente, drain and immediately transfer to the pan. Your pan should be warm to the touch but not hot (if it’s still too hot, do everything in a separate, warm mixing bowl). Toss pasta to coat with the pork fat and oil. Then, working quickly, pour the egg mixture over top of the pasta and vigourously toss so it begins to coat the pasta, and the heat of the pasta begins to cook the eggs. Add pasta water a few tablespoons at a time until desired consistency; this will help you get a smoother, silkier texture. Add parsley, ground pepper and salt to taste. Divide amongst warmed serving bowls and eat immediately.
Sara Chan is a Toronto-based entertainment lawyer, food enthusiast, unprofessional home chef and even less professional food photographer. Her favourite food group is pork. Sara’s column usually appears every other Tuesday.