Spaghetti alla carbonara

Method

1. Put a big pan of salted water on to boil.
2. Cut the pancetta into cubes the size of a sugar lump.
3. In a bowl beat the eggs with the grated parmesan and plenty of freshly ground pepper into a thick paste. Keep the white of one egg and use only the yolks of the others — the white makes the sauce watery.
4. Put the pancetta into a cold pan and heat it slowly for 6–8 minutes. The fat has to render gently; over a fierce heat the meat burns outside and stays rubbery in the middle. Add neither oil nor salt; what renders out is enough.
5. Cook the pasta a minute short of what the packet says and save yourself a mugful of the cooking water.
6. Take the pan off the heat and let it cool for half a minute. Add the drained pasta and toss it in the rendered fat.
7. Only now pour the egg mixture in and stir fast, adding cooking water a spoonful at a time until you have a glossy cream. It never goes back on the heat — above 70 °C the egg scrambles and you have scrambled eggs with noodles. Cream has no business in this dish; the cream comes from egg with cheese and the starch from the water.

1. Put a big pan of salted water on to boil.
2. Cut the pancetta into cubes the size of a sugar lump.
3. In a bowl beat the eggs with the grated parmesan and plenty of freshly ground pepper into a thick paste. Keep the white of one egg and use only the yolks of the others — the white makes the sauce watery.
4. Put the pancetta into a cold pan and heat it slowly for 6–8 minutes. The fat has to render gently; over a fierce heat the meat burns outside and stays rubbery in the middle. Add neither oil nor salt; what renders out is enough.
5. Cook the pasta a minute short of what the packet says and save yourself a mugful of the cooking water.
6. Take the pan off the heat and let it cool for half a minute. Add the drained pasta and toss it in the rendered fat.
7. Only now pour the egg mixture in and stir fast, adding cooking water a spoonful at a time until you have a glossy cream. It never goes back on the heat — above 70 °C the egg scrambles and you have scrambled eggs with noodles. Cream has no business in this dish; the cream comes from egg with cheese and the starch from the water.

1. Put a big pan of salted water on to boil.
2. Cut the pancetta into cubes the size of a sugar lump.
3. In a bowl beat the eggs with the grated parmesan and plenty of freshly ground pepper into a thick paste. Keep the white of one egg and use only the yolks of the others — the white makes the sauce watery.
4. Put the pancetta into a cold pan and heat it slowly for 6–8 minutes. The fat has to render gently; over a fierce heat the meat burns outside and stays rubbery in the middle. Add neither oil nor salt; what renders out is enough.
5. Cook the pasta a minute short of what the packet says and save yourself a mugful of the cooking water.
6. Take the pan off the heat and let it cool for half a minute. Add the drained pasta and toss it in the rendered fat.
7. Only now pour the egg mixture in and stir fast, adding cooking water a spoonful at a time until you have a glossy cream. It never goes back on the heat — above 70 °C the egg scrambles and you have scrambled eggs with noodles. Cream has no business in this dish; the cream comes from egg with cheese and the starch from the water.

Allergens: Cereals containing gluten (1), Milk (7), Eggs (3)