Spaghetti with Crispy Pancetta and Egg
A carbonara-style pasta where spaghetti is tossed with crisp pancetta, pecorino and eggs, bound into a silky sauce with starchy cooking water. Ready in under 20 minutes.
- Total
- 18 min
- Prep 5 · Cook 13
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Rendering fat · Emulsifying
- Savory
- Quick
- Italian
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add 1 tbsp salt. Add 180 g spaghetti and cook until al dente, about 9 minutes. Reserve 120 ml of the starchy cooking water, then drain the spaghetti in a colander.
~9 min
Salting the water seasons the pasta from within, while starchy water later helps the sauce cling.
-
While step 1 cooks
While the spaghetti cooks, cut 80 g pancetta into 1 cm pieces. Grate 40 g pecorino. In a small bowl, whisk 2 eggs with the grated pecorino and 0.5 tsp black pepper until smooth.
~4 min
Whisking eggs with cheese and pepper ahead creates a uniform mixture that melts smoothly into a sauce.
-
While step 1 cooks
While the spaghetti finishes cooking, place a frying pan over medium heat. Add the pancetta pieces and cook until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
~5 min
Rendering pancetta over medium heat crisps the meat and releases flavorful fat without burning.
Rendering fat Cook pancetta over medium heat until the fat melts and the meat crisps; if it browns too fast, lower the heat to avoid burning.
-
Add the drained spaghetti to the frying pan with the pancetta and toss to coat in the rendered fat. Pour in the egg and pecorino mixture and toss quickly, adding the reserved starchy water a splash at a time until the sauce is smooth and glossy.
~2 min
Off-heat tossing with starchy water emulsifies the eggs into a creamy sauce without scrambling.
Take the pan off the heat before adding the egg mixture: residual heat thickens the sauce without scrambling the eggs. If the pan is too hot, the eggs will set into lumps instead of a silky coating.
Emulsifying Toss the egg mixture off the heat, adding starchy water gradually, until the sauce is smooth and glossy; too much heat will scramble the eggs.
-
Serve immediately on warm plates, with extra grated pecorino and black pepper if you like.
~1 min