Make your Carbonara with what you can get, I don’t think Guanciale and Pecorino is a must – but that’s my favorite.
- 250g Spaghetti
- 125g Guanciale (or Pancetta)
- 125g Pecorino Romano (or Sardo, or Parmeggano, or Grana)
- 1 Egg and 1 Egg Yolk (ein Ei und ein Eigelb)
- 25 Black Peppercorns (1g, a third of a Table Spoon, to taste)
Cook Spaghetti all the way.
In the meantime, dry-roast peppercorns gently, then crush in mortar. I like the pepper a little more on the coarse side. Then do the Gunaciale thing in a sauteuse.
Now there are two options.
You use a pasta pot with sieve insert?
In a large metal mixing bowl, add grated Pecorino, pepper and some hot pasta water and not-too-hot fat of the Guanciale, make a paste. Take out the sieve with the Spaghetti and add the pasta to the mixing bowl. Make sure to leave the hot water in the pot to make a bain-marie (Wasserbad) with the mixing bowl, which is placed on top of the pot. This way, you can finish off the pasta dish in the mixing bowl by adding the egg, and some more pasta water if necessary. The bain-marie will gently heat the bowl but can hardly overheat, so eggs won’t stick. This method can also serve four, but it’s a bit of a struggle.
Simple pasta pot? Putting together the grated Pecorino, pepper and pasta sauce in a mixing bowl to make a paste still makes sense, but you will have to finish off the dish in the sauteuse. Know your tools, use a thermometer to minimize risk of sticky eggs. Again, a bit of a struggle if served for four. I don’t have a matching sized sauteuse, might work with that.