After the recipe for crepes for Chandeleur and the galette des rois, here’s another recipe from Cyrl Lignac to impress your guests: a traditional Italian specialty, pasta alla Carbonara. But Italians hate pasta Carbonara “à la Française”. The cause? Fresh cream! Mamma Mia! Enough to ruffle the feathers of our Italian friends… So you feel like getting into the kitchen and cooking some “real” Carbo’ pasta? Chef Cyril Lignac gives you his crunchy and tasty recipe for Pasta Carbonara, cooked just like in Rome. Basta the cream and buongiorno the eggs, cheese and guanciale! Buon appetito!
Cyril Lignac’s recipe for “real” Pasta Carbonara
Ingredients for 4 people :
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- 400 g spaghetti
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- 2 whole eggs
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- 4 egg yolks
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- 120 g pecorino cheese
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- 120 g guanciale
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- 10 whole black peppercorns
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- 80 g Parmesan cheese
Preparing pasta à la Carbonara by Cyril Lignac :
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- Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Then cook the spaghetti for 6 minutes. Drain the spaghetti, reserving two ladles of cooking water.
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- Crush the whole black peppercorns.
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- Slice the guanciale thinly, like bacon. Sauté in a hot frying pan with a little of your own ground pepper, until crisp.
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- Set aside 3/4 of the guanciale on a plate on absorbent paper. Keep 1/4 of the guanciale in the pan, with the cooking fat.
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- Grate the Pecorino and Parmesan, then blend the two cheeses together.
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- In a large bowl, mix the eggs, 3/4 of the grated cheese and two pinches of crushed pepper. Book now.
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- Pour 2 ladles of pasta cooking water into the pan, add the spaghetti and guanciale and stir. Cook over low heat, stirring, for about 6 minutes.
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- Turn off the heat and set aside for a few minutes.
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- Once the pasta has cooled a little, add your egg mixture, grated cheese and crushed pepper, until you obtain a creamy texture.
Cyril Lignac’s tip to avoid missing the pasta Carbonara recipe:
The secret of a good Carbonara lies in the “link”. This will create the perfect creamy sauce to envelop your spaghetti. To avoid an “omelette” effect that would spoil the whole recipe, remember to season your spaghetti off the heat, by adding a little pasta cooking water.