Bucatini Carbonara – Recipe Kit

I’m very passionate about carbonara, probably because it was the first dish I learnt to cook. No cream. No garlic. No parsley. No onion. No cream cheese. No bacon. No mushrooms. No leeks. No parsnips. No lemon (as recently seen in a celebrity chain restaurant). Only guanciale, egg, Pecorino & an extra twist of cracked black pepper should do. You will be forgiven for using pancetta and parmesan. Otherwise, it’s No ifs and No buts. However, if you do disagree you can discuss it with our giant pepper mill, found in the corner of the restaurant. 😉

What’s Guanciale and Bucatini?
Guanciale is a cured pork cheek in a mix of salt and spices. Unlike pancetta, which is cured, lightly smoked pork belly, the differences are slight but they’re definitely still there.
Bucatini is a long hollow spaghetti originating from Rome, traditionally used in Carbonara and Amatriciana sauces.

Serves 2

What you get:
400g x Homemade bucatini pasta
2 x Italian Eggs
80g x Guanciale
80g x Pecorino Romano cheese

Recipe:

1. Finely slice or dice the guanciale and sauté in a dry pan (no oil) until golden crisp.

2. Whisk and combine one whole egg and 1 egg yolk until frothy.

3. If desired add an extra twist of pepper to the eggs.

4. Pat dry the guanciale with some tissue paper and add to the eggs.

5. Grate half of the Pecorino into the egg mixture and stir.

6. Cook the pasta for 4/5 minutes in plenty salty boiling water.

7. Drain the pasta leaving a 50/75ml of the cooking liquid in the bottom of the pot.

8. Return the pasta to the pot, turning the heat off.

9. Stir in the egg mixture whilst vigorously mixing the pasta, allowing the egg to cook in the pasta’s own heat. It’s important at this stage, not to allow the eggs to scramble but to only coat and stick to the pasta in a creamy like fashion.

10. Add the pasta to serving plates and grate the remaining Pecorino on top, with a further twist of black pepper.

11. Pecorino and guanciale are both salty flavourful ingredients, so expect a very savoury dish, no extra seasoning of salt is required.

Buon appetito!