The Pasta Queen's #1 Trick for Creamy Pasta Carbonara
The Pasta Queen's Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Spaghetti alla Carbonara, the classic Roman pasta dish, is very simple, but it can also be very intimidating. The dish gets its creaminess from eggs, but when you're handling eggs, pasta and a hot pan it's very easy to end up with scrambled egg-sauced pasta instead of the luscious, silky Carbonara the Roman Gods intended.
So when we stumbled upon viral sensation and Italian goddess The Pasta Queen's reel showing how NOT to scramble Spaghetti alla Carbonara, we knew we had finally cracked the code for making smooth and creamy carbonara at home.
"Carbonara is interesting because it only comes out correctly when you follow this exact sequence," explains Nadia Caterina Munno, aka The Pasta Queen. "It is mostly about timing so follow this sequence as if an Italian Nonna was watching you."
While timing definitely helps in The Pasta Queen's Spaghetti alla Carbonara recipe, so does her genius (read: foolproof) sauce hack, which takes place off the heat, in a separate bowl, with a specific number of eggs. Read on for all of the delicious details.
Related: The Pasta Queen's Creamy Pasta & Peas Recipe
Here at Parade.com, we're all about sharing products we love with our audience. When you make a purchase on an item seen on this page, we may earn a commission, however, all picks are independently chosen unless otherwise mentioned.
What Is Traditional Carbonara Made Of?
Even though carbonara is a very creamy dish, there's actually zero cream in a proper carbonara—only eggs, cracked black pepper, cured pork (like guanciale) and grated cheese. The Pasta Queen only uses Pecorino Romano in her recipe although some people prefer Parmesan or a mix of Pecorino and Parm.
How NOT To Scramble Spaghetti alla Carbonara, According to The Pasta Queen
View the original article to see embedded media.
In her video, which already has 1.8M views, we see Nadia setting the scene for Italian pasta excellence. She starts by dicing a giant hunk of guanciale (the exact kind she uses can be purchased on her Amazon storefront for the commentators asking) before frying it up in a pan for about 3 minutes, or until the "the rendered fat is glistening in the pan and begging you to eat it."
Next, it's onto the carbonara. First of all, she cracks five eggs into a separate side bowl (NOT A HOT PAN OF PASTA). Nadia's rule of thumb is 1 yolk per person and 1 for the pot, so adjust the number of eggs as needed. She whisks those together, adds the freshly grated Pecorino Romano, whisks some more, then ladles a bit of the guanciale and its glistening fat into the bowl. After that, it's a bit more stirring until everything is evenly combined and then she reaches for her peppercorns—it's freshly cracked black pepper or nothing at all for Nadia. A generous handful goes into the sauce and the pasta goes into the hot boiling water.
Once the pasta is al dente or "tender to the tooth," the spaghetti joins the guanciale in the pan (still off the heat), and the egg mixture is poured on top. Nadia adds a ladle full of the reserved pasta water (or "tears of the Roman Gods"), which helps create a nice, creamy sauce, not a thick, chonky mess. According to Nadia, the residual heat from the pasta will cook the eggs enough to thicken them into a creamy sauce.
Top with a dusting of grated cheese and now you have the best-ever, Roman-approved method for preparing Spaghetti alla Carbonara without scrambling your eggs. Buon Appetito!
