Porchetta Carbonara Recipe · i am a food blog (2024)

When you have a lot of porchetta in the house, you tend to get creative. So far we’ve had sandwiches (delicious), tacos (very tasty), and carbonara (even better than traditional?!). Carbonara is one of my favourite pasta dishes, so it was inevitable that our porchetta ended up in a gorgeous glossy egg and cheese sauce.

Porchetta Carbonara Recipe · i am a food blog (1)

I learned about carbonara from an old boss of mine who, after finding out that I love bacon and eggs, insisted that I had to try carbonara. “It’s like having breakfast for dinner,” she told me. Anything that remotely resembles breakfast for dinner and I’m sold.

Making carbonara is all about timing. Start boiling the pasta first and then get started on crisping up your pork. By the time the pork is crisp, you should be ready to toss the hot pasta with the “sauce.” The heat of the pasta cooks the egg and melts the cheese, causing it to coat and cling to each strand of pasta. If you’ve never had carbonara, you should: crispy bits of pork and a silky, rich sauce make this a must-have dish!

Porchetta Carbonara Recipe · i am a food blog (2)

I am porky, I am egg-y, I am Porchetta Carbonara!

Porchetta Carbonara Recipe
serves 2

  • 1/4 cup chopped porchetta (feel free to use pancetta or bacon)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley, or to taste
  • 4 ounces of your favorite long pasta

Start by boiling a pot of water and then cooking your pasta according to the package. Time it so that everything else is prepared by the time the pasta is cooked.

Fry the porchetta in a small sauté pan over medium heat until it starts to crisp at the edges.

Break the egg into big enough to toss the pasta in. Beat it lightly with a fork, then add the cheese, a liberal grinding of pepper, and the chopped parsley. Mix thoroughly. Add cooked drained spaghetti to the bowl, and toss rapidly, coating the strands well. Add the entire contents of the porchetta pan into the bowl, toss thoroughly again, and enjoy at once.

Porchetta Carbonara Recipe · i am a food blog (3)

13 Comments

  1. Cheoy Lee says:

    April 18, 2012 at 8:16 am

    Looks wonderful, and a subtle twist on the classic ham version too.

    Reply

  2. IGredux says:

    STOP (don’t) IT!!! my brain-eyes-hunger pains will soon overpower me and cause a massive cookery anticipation meltdown!!! you have a sick mind and i am right there with you. no happy tears… yet. :-)

    Reply

  3. Dino says:

    June 17, 2012 at 11:03 am

    Hi, try to add a spoon of double cream in the porchetta pan just a minute before tossing the pasta. It would be more glossy and creamy.
    Nice blog!

    Reply

    1. Alex says:

      October 8, 2017 at 3:31 am

      Yaaaaas! How fabulous does having egg yolk, heavy cream, pecorino or parmesan, black pepper, al-dente pasta and PORCHETTA sound. Thats all I need in life. Please yo’ self!!!!!!

      Reply

  4. July 25, 2012 at 11:12 am

    I think the real italian carbonara has more eggs than porchetta. The creamy texture comes from the melting of grated cheese in the beaten eggs. Once a chef told me not to add any cream!

  5. Don Draper says:

    September 5, 2012 at 3:25 pm

    If I’m cooking for two, I always use one egg per person, at room temperature eggs and always temper the eggs with the water that the pasta was boiled in.

    Reply

    1. Alex says:

      October 8, 2017 at 3:32 am

      Just the yolk though!

      Reply

  6. Photo Guy says:

    August 6, 2013 at 1:38 am

    Beautiful photos and wonderful recipe, looks so filling!

    Reply

  7. yessi says:

    November 30, 2014 at 6:41 pm

    Im a pasta lover can eat it forever if I could just like you like bacon and eggs. My roommate loves eggs as well my roommate can eat it everyday if he could. I will be trying this! I always get hungry see your blog ha!

    Reply

  8. Lauren says:

    January 23, 2015 at 10:42 am

    So I made your porchetta from your beautiful cookbook (!) and was left with lots of leftovers. This looks absolutely delicious. Have you ever tried leftover porchetta and pasta with a tomato based sauce? Not sure if it would drown the porchetta?
    Thanks!

    Reply

    1. steph says:

      January 23, 2015 at 1:15 pm

      hi lauren!! so happy you made it!! it would be absolutely awesome with a tomato based sauce…also, it tastes great in tacos or quesadillas :)

      Reply

  9. Rumbar says:

    November 3, 2020 at 12:30 am

    This not carbonara

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Porchetta Carbonara Recipe · i am a food blog (2024)

FAQs

What is the golden rule of cooking a carbonara? ›

The golden rule to silky carbonara is to whisk your egg whites so that they're completely incorporated with the egg yolks. This will create a smooth, velvety sauce. As like any pasta dish, including carbonara, cook the pasta perfectly al dente so that it's soft but still firm, with some bite.

What is the trick about carbonara sauce? ›

There might be light variations in the quantities and preparation steps, but the real Carbonara has only 6 simple ingredients: water, pasta, guanciale, eggs, pecorino, pepe. Here's my recipe! well, the first and only trick is related to the ingredients: always use high quality Guanciale and Pecorino and fresh eggs.

What should not be added to carbonara? ›

What not to put in Spaghetti Carbonara? Don't put garlic, cream, milk or butter. It is not needed. It is fine if you want to make a dish with those ingredients, but if you want to learn how to make this dish correctly, use only pecorino, eggs/egg yolks, black pepper, guanciale, and pasta water.

What does carbonara mean in English? ›

car·​bo·​nara ˌkär-bə-ˈnär-ə : a dish of hot pasta into which other ingredients (such as eggs, bacon or ham, and grated cheese) have been mixed.

What thickens carbonara? ›

Equally important is that the fat that melts out of the guanciale is required to thicken the carbonara sauce to make it creamy. Basically, what happens is that when the fat from the guanciale and in the egg yolks is mixed with starchy pasta cooking water, it thickens.

Should carbonara have cream in it? ›

Should carbonara have cream? Typically carbonara sauce is only made of eggs, bacon, parmesan, olive oil, seasoning, and sometimes, vegetables. As for cream, Italians will tell you that is a big no no.

Why no garlic in carbonara? ›

Because in the traditional recipe there is no garlic, if you add it you will lower quality of a very good food. Why is there no garlic in carbonara? Because it's an Italian dish, not an Italian-American dish, and Italian cooking does not use garlic as heavily as Italian-American cuisine.

How do you keep carbonara from scrambling? ›

Using a large mixing bowl and setting it over the boiling pasta water to create a makeshift double boiler helps prevent you from accidentally scrambling the eggs.

Why does my carbonara taste weird? ›

Signs that carbonara sauce has gone bad include a sour or unpleasant odor, visible mold, a significant color change, separation or curdling, an unusual texture, and an off taste. If you notice any of these signs, it's best to discard the sauce to avoid the risk of consuming spoiled food.

Why is carbonara so hard to make? ›

The carbonara sauce in pasta primarily consists of egg yolks. Achieving a smooth and creamy consistency is often the most challenging step. Since the raw egg yolks have to be mixed with the pasta, you have to make sure to add the egg yolks to the pasta OFF the heat so the eggs don't scramble.

Should you use whole eggs in carbonara? ›

Traditional carbonara sauce is made with whole eggs, not just the yolks. However, some recipes do call for just yolks. In the traditional recipe, the eggs are beaten together with grated Pecorino Romano cheese, black pepper, and sometimes a bit of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

What is the best meat for carbonara? ›

Carbonara is traditionally made with guanciale, or cured pork jowl, though pancetta is often substituted, and both are fatty, salty and deeply savoury.

What kind of cheese is good in carbonara? ›

Pecorino Romano: This aged sheep's cheese is always traditionally used in the Roman pastas, and its salty, grassy, earthy flavor is absolutely delicious in carbonara. That said, if Pecorino is unavailable at your local grocery store, you can use Parmesan as a non-traditional substitute.

What kind of cheese do you put in carbonara? ›

Finely grate 50g pecorino cheese and 50g parmesan and mix them together. Beat the 3 large eggs in a medium bowl and season with a little freshly grated black pepper.

Should the egg in carbonara be cooked? ›

Yes. The heat of the pasta and its cooking water warms the eggs just enough to change the combination of eggs, cheese, pasta water and fat from your guanciale into a delicious smooth sauce. If your pasta is too hot, it will cook the eggs, and you'll get curdled eggs and cheese on your pasta instead of carbonara sauce.

Do you put raw egg in carbonara? ›

What distinguishes carbonara from other pasta dishes is its technique of combining eggs, hard cheese, cured pork, and black pepper into a rich, silky sauce. This recipe calls for raw eggs that are gently cooked by the hot sauce. If you prefer, you can use pasteurized eggs instead.

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