This dish is every homecook’s dream: simple ingredients, high repeatability, and oh-so-satisfying results! The key is good eggs, good guanciale, and good pasta. Guanciale (guancia = cheek in Italian) is an increasingly available ingredient in Hong Kong deli counters. The key here is to understand that the creaminess doesn’t just come from the eggs, but the thickening (“manticatura”) of water, starch, and oils from the guanciale. The yolks act almost as an emulsifier.
Serves 2
Time: 🕰
Effort: 💪💪
Ingredients:
1 slice of guanciale from an Italian deli counter
2 egg yolks
240g pasta (this is definitely the occasion to be generous!)
1 handful pecorino romano, grated
1 handful parmiggiano reggiano, grated
Black pepper
Method:
1. Bring a pot of water to an active boil
2. Add enough salt to water so that it has the saltiness of a light soup
3. Put pasta (traditionally, spaghetti) into the boiling water
4. Slice guanciale into strips
5. Add guanciale to a pan and bring to medium heat
6. Attention: no need add oil to the pan. The guanciale will sweat out enough fat for this dish
7. While the guanciale cooks, separate eggs to into whites and yolks; reserve whites for mask or another dish
8. Add the two cheeses to the egg yolk
9. Add around 4 turns if black pepper
10. Mix with spoon until a smooth and soft paste is formed
11. The guanciale should now be warmed up; turn up heat to high to crisp up the outside, around 20 seconds
12. Carefully remove guanciale strips and set aside, leaving behind the valuable fat
13. Add 2 ladles of pasta water to the guanciale fat and cook on medium-high heat, until enough water evaporates to form a creamy pasta water sauce
14. Check doneness of pasta
15. If ok, drain and tip pasta into the pan containing the pasta water sauce
16. Stir pasta actively on medium heat until pasta is well coated with the pasta water sauce
17. Remove pan from heat
18. Add the egg and cheese paste into the pasta
19. Actively fold the paste into the pasta, until that fragrant, classic carbonara sauce is formed
20. After plating, the pasta is likely to absorb some sauce, hence it would be good to add one additional tablespoon of pasta water at this point and mix, if you feel the pasta risks drying out at the table
21. Add a small handful of parmiggiano and give one last mix
22. Divide into warm plates
23. Garnish with guanciale strips on top
24. (Alternatively, dice up the strips and mix into the pasta)
25. Finish the dish with one final turn of black pepper
Nat & E Homecooking 