The New York Times recipe: Spaghetti carbonara

“You probably think I do this for everybody,” Meryl Streep, as Rachel, says to Jack Nicholson’s Mark in the 1986 film Heartburn, after cooking up a late-night carbonara. We can’t all be Meryl Streep, but you can whip up a mean pasta with this foolproof recipe from Ian Fisher, which calls for pecorino and parmesan, egg yolks and whole eggs, and olive oil-fried guanciale, which permeates the dish with its irresistible porkiness.

This dish is a deli egg-bacon-and-cheese-on-a-roll that has been pasta-fied, fancified, fetishised and turned into an Italian tradition that, like many inviolate Italian traditions, is actually far less old than the Mayflower. Because America may have contributed to its creation, carbonara is Exhibit A in the back-and-forth between Italy and the United States when it comes to food. Remember: the main goal is creaminess.

Ingredients

Salt

2 large eggs and 2 large yolks, room temperature

30g (about ⅓ packed cup) grated pecorino romano, plus additional for serving

30g (about ⅓ packed cup) grated parmesan

Coarsely ground black pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

100g of slab guanciale, pancetta or bacon, sliced into pieces about ½cm thick by 1cm square

340g spaghetti (about ¾ box)

Preparation

Step 1 Place a large pot of lightly salted water (no more than 1 tbsp salt) over high heat, and bring to a boil. Fill a large bowl with hot water for serving, and set aside.

Step 2 In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and pecorino and parmesan. Season with a pinch of salt and generous black pepper.

Step 3 Set the water to boil. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, add the pork, and saute until the fat just renders, on the edge of crispness but not hard. Remove from heat and set aside.

Step 4 Add pasta to the water and boil until a bit firmer than al dente. Just before pasta is ready, reheat guanciale in skillet, if needed. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then drain pasta and add to the skillet over low heat. Stir for a minute or so.

Step 5 Empty serving bowl of hot water. Dry it and add hot pasta mixture. Stir in cheese mixture, adding some reserved pasta water if needed for creaminess. Serve immediately, dressing it with a bit of additional grated pecorino and pepper.

Serves 4

Total time: 25 minutes

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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