Monday 29 May 2023

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Wholewheat Spaghetti Carbonara

 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1. 400g wholewheat spaghetti 
2. 5 eggs or 10 egg yolks
3. 100g guanciale (cured pork cheeks) sliced in long thin size
4. 80g pecorino cheese grated
5. 3.5 litres of water
6. 35g salt
7. Pepper
8. 1 shallot onion chopped (optional)
9. 4 cloves garlic minced (optional)
10. A handful of chopped chives or parsley for garnishing
11. A handful of cheese for garnishing

Directions:

1. In a bowl, beat 5 eggs with pecorino cheese and set aside.

2. Bring a large pot 3.5 litres of water to boil, add 35g salt and cook the pasta al dente for 3 minutes only.

3. Heat a pan, add the guanciale under medium heat, and slowly fry it, because you don't want to burn the guanciale. You want it crispy, but not burned, but tender in the middle. The fat from the meat will turn into oil. Add garlic and onion and fry.

4. When the meat turns golden (but not burned), add the spaghetti into the pan and mix well, then add one ladle of pasta water.

5. Remove from fire and let it cool down a little bit before adding the egg mixture as you don't want the egg to turn into scramble eggs. If necessary, let it cool a little, but it should still be hot. Then add the egg mixture, stir and mix well away from direct heat.

6. If necessary, turn on the fire again under the lowest heat to evaporate the sauce to a desired consistency of the sauce.

7. Serve with sprinkling of grated periconi cheese, black pepper and chopped chives or parsley. Bon appetite :-)

Video Demonstration:

Additional Information:

I normally find this dish a little heavy, especially those I have tried in Denmark, but our whole family fell in love with it during our vacation to Rome. It didn't feel so heavy and is actually quite a nutritious meal, with the protein from the egg, especially if you use wholewheat spaghetti (and add a little green salad on the side). The real spaghetti carbonara in Rome does not contain any cream.

We just returned from Italy yesterday, and the kids already missed the trip and spaghetti carbonara already. So I decided to make some today.

This recipe is based on real Roman carbonara. Do not use cream. Real carbonara does not use cream. The sauce is creamy because of the eggs and cheese.

In general, one egg and 100g spaghetti for one person. Then add an extra egg on top. Use 50g guanciale for one person. Two persons, 40g cheese. For every 1 litre of water, add 10g of salt.

Spaghetti is the classic pasta that you use for carbonara as it absorbs the egg better. Avoid using other types of pasta. If you can, chooose spaghettoni, which is a bigger size of spaghetti, as it absorbs the egg better. You can also use rigatoni.

To make carbonara, you use guanciale, which is pork cheeks cured with garlic, sage and rosemary. If you can't find guanciale, use pancetta, which is cured pork belly. If you can't find pancetta, then use bacon, although bacon is smoked, not cured. 

Some Romans use whole eggs, some use only egg yolks. Most chefs nowadays only use the yolk, but there is no reason why you shouldn't use the whole egg.

I fry the meat with garlic and onions though, so it's a little deviation from the classic carbonara.

References:


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