Prosciutto Carbonara

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For when you get stood up

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Prep time: 15 min | Total time: 30 min | Difficulty: 3/5

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I don’t know what happened between you two, but the most important thing to remember now is that your favourite shape of pasta doesn’t define you. Use whatever kind you like, and don’t let anyone tell you that farfalle doesn’t belong in Carbonara. I, however, really enjoy spaghettoni — a thicker version of spaghetti that only takes a couple more minutes to cook, and delivers a very slurpable result.

What I really, REALLY recommend is making an effort of finding real guanciale (50% of the flavour comes from this specific pig’s cheek cut). If you want to use pancetta or bacon, you are a savage, but I’m not here to judge. I’m here to gently guide you to a bowl of goodness.

Shall we?

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Ingredients (serves 1… their loss)

• Pasta 100g / 3oz

• Salt you want pasta water to be pretty salty, and the rule of thumb is 1% salt to water. So if you are using three litres, add 30g. Alternative method is adding salt until you hear an imaginary Nonna begging you to stop

• Parmesan 30g / 1oz, divided

• Garlic 2 cloves

• Prosciutto 15g / 1oz

• Guanciale 30g / 1oz

• Egg 1

• Freshly ground black pepper as much as you can handle, usually somewhere between 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon

• Unsalted butter 15g / 1 tbsp

• Salt & black pepper to taste

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Equipment

• Pot

• Cheese grater

• Cutting board

• Knife

• Fork

• Frying pan (I like my good ol’ cast iron pan, but use whatever can sustain medium-high heat)

• A small plate lined with paper towels (2 sheets should be enough)

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Method

1. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil, and cook the pasta until al dente — usually it would be 2 minutes less than what the packaging instructions dictate

2. Now let’s prep all the ingredients, because once the pasta has cooked, things will move fast.

   • Grate your Parmesan

   • Peel two garlic cloves

   • Using your hands (not a knife), tear the prosciutto into smaller pieces

   • Chop the guanciale into bite-sized pieces, removing the rind if there is any

   • Beat the egg in a bowl with a fork, add the cheese (reserve a little bit for garnishing later) and a generous amount of ground black pepper. Set aside

3. Ready for this? If positive, melt the butter over medium-low heat

4. Once the butter has melted, throw the garlic cloves on the pan. We won’t be adding any garlic to the sauce, we just want to infuse our butter. After a couple of minutes, or when the garlic is golden, remove it from the pan, and turn up the heat to medium-high

5. Fry the prosciutto until it reaches dark burgundy colour and looks crispy — about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the pan carefully, and place on a plate lined with paper towels — they will absorb excess grease. Move aside

6. It’s guanciale’s turn. Same thing here — fry until golden and crispy, and then add it next to the prosciutto. Make sure they don’t get mixed

7. Once the pasta is ready, reserve one cup of pasta water — you may or may not need it later, and drain the rest.

8. Add the cooked pasta to the pan, and toss it around to coat it in buttery goodness.

9. Remove from heat, and pour the egg-cheese mixture onto the pan, constantly tossing and making sure the egg doesn’t become an omelette, and the pasta is evenly coated. If the sauce feels too thick, add a little bit of reserved pasta water to loosen it

10. Add the guanciale, and mix everything together.

11. Serve in a bowl and top with remaining Parmesan and crispy prosciutto bits.

12. Do you even remember your date’s name now?

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Dealing with Leftovers

What leftovers?

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