Classic Spaghetti Carbonara

Roman-style pasta with pancetta, eggs, black pepper and pecorino — no cream needed.

Ingredients

• 400 g Spaghetti
• 150 g Pancetta or guanciale, diced
• 4 Egg yolks
• 1 Whole eggs
• 80 g Pecorino Romano, grated
• 2 tsp Black peppercorns, coarsely cracked
• to taste Sea salt

Method

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Whisk yolks, whole egg, pecorino and pepper in a heatproof bowl.
3. Fry pancetta in a dry pan over medium heat until crisp; kill the flame.
4. Boil the pasta 1 minute short of package direction. Reserve 1 cup of the starchy water.
5. Toss the drained pasta into the pancetta pan. Off the heat, add the egg mixture and a splash of pasta water. Stir vigorously — the residual heat turns it into a silky sauce, not scrambled eggs.
6. Adjust with more pasta water for gloss. Serve immediately with more pecorino and pepper.

Chef's tips

• Never add cream — that's not carbonara.
• Kill the flame before adding the egg mix.