Creamy Spaghetti Carbonara

About this recipe

Real carbonara gets its creamy sauce from eggs and cheese, not cream. The secret is mixing the hot pasta with the egg off the heat, so the sauce turns silky instead of scrambled. It takes about 20 minutes and uses ingredients you probably already have.

Method

1. 1

   Step 1

   Cook the spaghetti in well-salted boiling water until al dente. Before draining, scoop out 250 ml of the cooking water.

   10 min

2. 2

   Step 2

   Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large frying pan over medium heat for 6–8 minutes until crisp. Add the garlic for the last 30 seconds. Turn off the heat.

   7 min

3. 3

   Step 3

   Whisk the eggs, parmesan and pepper in a bowl.

4. 4

   Step 4

   Add the drained pasta to the bacon pan off the heat and toss. Wait 1 minute, then pour in the egg mixture with a splash of pasta water, tossing quickly until creamy.

   1 min

   Tip: If the pan is too hot, the egg will scramble. Off the heat is the key.

5. 5

   Step 5

   Add more pasta water if needed, then serve straight away with extra parmesan and pepper.