As someone who loves to cook and experiment with new recipes, nothing feels better than cooking without a recipe. Every home cook has at least one dish that they can whip up without having to double-check the ingredient list or cooking time. Of course, it goes without saying that cooking sans recipe takes practice and some trial & error but practice truly makes perfect. One of those no-recipe recipes for me is my spaghetti carbonara. An oldie but a goodie, I took inspiration from two recipes and blended them together to create my version.
Now before you say anything, I don’t claim this to be the most authentic carbonara but trust me when I say it’s simple to make, and will be your new go to!
creamy carbonara recipe
Ingredients:
- 2-3 large shallots, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves or more if you’re a garlic lover, minced
- 6 oz guanciale or pancetta, optinal
- 2 tbsp butter or olive oil
- 2-3 egg yolks, if they’re small then use 3
- 1/8-1/4 cup cream, 5% will work but a higher percentage is better
- salt & pepper
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan, plus more for serving
- 6 oz spaghetti, linguine, bucatini, or any other long pasta
- 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
- zest of 1/2 lemon
method:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add pasta, stirring so it doesn’t stick to the bottom
- Mix egg yolks, cream, parmesan, salt and pepper in a large mug and set aside
- In a large saucepan, add butter/oil and heat to medium, add guanciale, if using, and cook until crispy
- Add in the shallots and cook until softened and lightly golden, about 5-7 minutes
- Add garlic, season with salt & pepper and cook until fragrant
- If your pasta isn’t ready when the shallots/garlic are, turn off the heat and let it sit to avoid burning
- Once pasta is done, turn the heat back on to about medium/high and add pasta into the shallots/garlic
- Add the egg yolk mixture and toss with tongs, adding small splashes of the reserved pasta water to loosen then take off the heat
- Add lemon zest and serve with more parmesan
- Enjoy!