Creamy Bacon Pasta Carbonara

Real Italian carbonara doesn’t contain cream. The signature creaminess comes from beaten eggs and grated cheese cooking into a silky sauce on contact with hot pasta. This Americanized version adds a splash of milk or cream as insurance for cooks worried about the eggs scrambling, but the technique is the same.

The wallpaper paste consistency tip in the directions is dead-on. Your egg-cheese mixture should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon but loose enough to pour. Too thin and the sauce stays runny. Too thick and you’ll get clumps of cooked egg.

Timing is everything. Pull the pan off the heat before adding the egg mixture. Residual heat from the bacon fat and the hot pasta is what cooks the eggs into a sauce. Direct heat will scramble them. Toss aggressively the moment the eggs hit the pan to coat every strand evenly.

Use real Parmigiano-Reggiano, not the green can stuff. The flavor is night and day, and the cheese melts more smoothly into the sauce. Pecorino Romano is even more traditional if you can find it.

Lots of fresh ground black pepper is the finish. It should be assertive, almost spicy, against the rich egg and cheese.

Pro Tips

• Reserve a half cup of pasta water before draining. If the sauce tightens up too much, a tablespoon at a time loosens it without diluting the flavor.
• Use spaghetti, bucatini, or rigatoni. Long shapes catch the sauce best.
• Beat the eggs and cheese in a warm bowl (heated with hot pasta water) so the cold eggs don’t shock the hot pasta when they meet.
• Eat immediately. Carbonara doesn’t reheat well, the sauce breaks and the eggs go grainy.

Variations

• Substitute pancetta or guanciale for the bacon for a more authentic version.
• Add 1 cup of sliced sauteed mushrooms with the bacon for an earthy version.
• Stir in ¼ cup peas at the end for color and sweetness.