Back to basics

People often ask me for a recipe for carbonara. At least that is what I assume they mean by “white spaghetti.” My stock reply is that I have none, and by that I mean nothing involving cream — the main reason being that I never could get the sauce to the right consistency (or remain there). Plus it is no good cold (or, worse, reheated).

There’s some speculation as to the exact origins of carbonara. The dish did not appear in Italian recipe books until after the Second World War. It is at least likely that it was invented in Rome around that time when there was a steady supply of bacon and eggs to American troops assigned there, and even likelier that some Italian grandma improvised by incorporating them into the local cuisine (not that Italians don’t have bacon or eggs, but by the end of the war their economy had been all but destroyed).

So where does cream enter the scene? As far as the Italians are concerned, never. Their carbonara was, and is, nothing but pasta, bacon, cheese — and raw eggs. The cream came later when the American soldiers brought the dish home with them, so if you have been making carbonara with cream all this time, you now know better than proclaim that stuff “Italian” (no more than deep-dish pizza is) — capisci?

Getting back to the raw eggs, are you still interested in a carbonara recipe? Might as well, long as you’re here. Because it’s really good, otherwise why would the Yanks care to copy it? As to whether cream is an improvement over egg, that’s your call. (It’s still no good cold or reheated, though.)

To start, prepare bacon. I assume you know how to cook bacon. Crumble and set aside. Crush a garlic clove and brown it in the rendered bacon fat, then remove and discard. Set fat aside. Boil pasta in salted water until al dente. Meanwhile, beat two egg yolks with a tablespoon of grated cheese (Parmesan, pecorino, or a combination of both). When pasta cooks, save a few tablespoons of the water, drain noodles, and place in a cold bowl. Add the bacon and some of the bacon fat and stir to mix, then the egg/cheese mixture 2 tablespoons at a time until creamy/saucy enough for you. If too dry, add some of the reserved pasta water. (Too thick? Same.) Finish with ground black pepper and/or more grated cheese. Serve immediately.

Now, some notes. I didn’t measure, but obviously more pasta means more egg, cheese, and bacon. I used only egg yolks since I don’t fancy the texture of egg white; if you do go with whole egg, you’ll need less. As for salt, there was already enough in my pasta (pre-salted; I used fresh), also in the water it was cooked in. Lastly, do not use a heated bowl/pan to mix the dish in or the egg will cook. To be on the safe side, wait 30 seconds before adding the egg/cheese mixture to the pasta, but not all at once so you can control how wet the dish is — the residual heat from the pasta is supposed to emulsify the mixture; if you dump it all in, most will likely just pool at the bottom of the bowl and remain raw.

Oh — and don’t burn the bacon (in case you didn’t notice).

If it sounds like a lot of work, that’s just the OC in me. For the bare-bones version: (1) fry bacon, (2) prepare egg/cheese mixture, (3) cook pasta, then (4) mix ’em all up. Everything else is just fine print. If you’re worried about the health risks of eating raw egg, I had that carbonara all to myself and I’m still here, aren’t I?