STEPS 6 INGREDIENTS 3 TIME 20 MINS This carbonara sauce recipe is a bonafide, real-deal Italian classic. 
With its scrummy eggy sauce and chunky bacon bits, it’s a perfect sauce for any long pasta. (It is traditionally combined with spaghetti).
And… you’ll be pleased to know that it’s super-quick (20 mins) and simple to prepare. Let me show you how…
(Got your own fave pasta sauce recipe?
Serves 2
Ingredients: (For a printable PDF shopping list click here, or right-click this link and choose ‘Save target/link as’ to save the list for later.)
2 new, fresh eggs (one egg per person serving)
60g/2oz bacon chunks (pancetta/belly bacon)
20g/0.7oz parmesan cheese
Extra virgin olive oil
Pepper
Salt
Equipment:
Cheese grater
Small bowl (for whisking egg)
Frying pan
Optional:
Hand whisk
STEP 1 – Crack the eggs into your bowl, then add one pinch of salt and pepper for each egg. (If using standard American bacon, leave out the salt – the meat is usually plenty salty enough.)
– Use a fork (or whisk) and whisk until fully mixed and smooth.
STEP 2 – Grate the parmesan.
Put a tablespoon aside for serving later, then mix the rest into the bowl of eggy mixture.
STEP 3 – Cover half the base of your frying pan with olive oil. Pop on a medium heat hob.
– When the oil is hot (not spitting or smoking – that’s too hot!), add the bacon. Fry until softened and slightly brown (approx. 5-7 mins).
– Take the pan off the heat.
That’s it!
You now have the main elements of carbonara sauce.
All that’s left is…
1. Boil up and drain roughly 240g/8.5oz of spaghetti (or any other long pasta).
2. Pop the bacon pan back on the heat for a minute and mix in the pasta, coating it thoroughly in the oil.
3. Finally, take the full pan off the heat again, and mix in the eggy sauce. (We use off the heat so we don’t ‘cook’ the egg.)
Serve with the remaining grated parmesan.
Buon appetito!
Did you enjoy this carbonara?
– Try another eggy favorite of mine, quick breakfast pasta.
– Check out more deliciously simple pasta sauce recipes.