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Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

A Roman pasta dish of spaghetti tossed with guanciale, eggs, cheese, olive oil, pepper, and salt.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Romano cheese and cheese share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 38 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

Serves 6
Total1 hr

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Dice the guanciale or pancetta into 2.5 cm (1-inch) pieces.

  2. Bring a big pot of water to a boil.

  3. Add salt to taste when the water begins to simmer.

  4. Cook the spaghetti until it is al dente.

  5. Drain the spaghetti, reserving 1 cup of water.

Make the sauce

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

  2. When the oil is hot, add the pancetta and cook for about 10 minutes over a low flame until the pancetta has rendered most of its fat but is still chewy and barely browned.

  3. In a bowl, slowly whisk about ½ cup of the pasta water into the egg yolks.

  4. Add the grated cheese and mix thoroughly with a fork.

Combine and serve

  1. Strain the spaghetti and transfer it immediately to the skillet with the pancetta.

  2. Toss the spaghetti and turn off the heat.

  3. Add the egg and cheese mixture to the pasta while stirring in the remaining pasta water to help thin the sauce and create an emulsion.

  4. Add the pepper and toss all the ingredients to coat the pasta.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

429Calories
20 gProtein
38 gFat
3 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Romano Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Romano cheese + cheesetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together38 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  2. Olive + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together30,263 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Cheese + olivetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,802 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).

  4. Romano cheese + olivetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together266 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).

  5. Romano cheese + peppertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together272 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Egg yolks
Thicken the sauce into a creamy coating when gently heated, adding richness.
Guanciale or pancetta
Renders fat that carries flavor through the sauce and gives savory, slightly browned bits.
Pecorino romano cheese
Adds salty, sharp flavor and body to the sauce as it melts into the pasta.
Parmigiano-reggiano cheese
Adds nutty, savory flavor and helps the sauce cling to the spaghetti.
Spaghetti
Absorbs and holds the sauce, and its starch helps bind the emulsion with the pasta water.
Extra-virgin olive oil
Adds fat that cooks the pancetta and carries flavor through the dish.

The step that matters

Add the egg mixture off the heat. Egg yolk proteins set at moderate heat, so adding them to very hot pasta or a hot pan can scramble them. Turning off the heat first and stirring in pasta water gently brings the yolks together into a smooth sauce.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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