On a recent trip to Italy, one of my biggest culinary revelations was Spaghetti alla Carbonara. The traditional recipe has no cream, no chicken, no vegetables - just good quality pancetta, eggs and cheese. This authentic Italian Carbonara tastes richer and more luxurious than any Carbonara I’ve had before.
Pancetta seems to be a rare ingredient in Singapore - no supermarkets and very few butchers stock it. I usually resort to using streaky bacon but tonight I wanted something a little special. I bought pancetta at the Swiss Butchery on Tanglin Road and Pecorino Fiore del Pastore, a sheep’s milk cheese imported from Sardinia Italy, from Da Paolo Gastronomia in Holland Village.
Makes enough for two
200g spaghetti pasta
100g pancetta, cut into 1cm cubes
Half cup of parmigiano-reggiano, grated ?
Half cup of pecorino, grated ?
2 whole eggs plus 2 egg yolks
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Freshly cracked black pepper
What to do
Fry pancetta in olive oil on medium-high heat until crispy and golden brown. Set aside, making sure you keep the rendered fat.
Combine whole egg, half the parmigiano-reggiano, all the pecorino, and plenty of pepper in a large bowl, and mix well.
Boil water in large pot, add teaspoon of salt, and cook pasta in salted water for about 8mins until al dente ?.
Reserve about half cup of pasta water and drain pasta. Heat pan with pancetta, add pasta and toss for about 1min. Remove from heat
Immediately add pasta to egg mixture and stir thoroughly to warm eggs with heat from pasta. Add some reserved pasta water until you get the right consistency for sauce, i.e. not too thick.
Place pasta on individual plates and create nest in centre to drop in one egg yolk. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and season with more pepper before serving.
