King Estate Executive Chef Stevie Provencio shares his recipe for a carbonara you can make at home that he calls “Carbonara My Way.” We think you’ll approve of the modest modifications he has made to the classic dish. This recipe is easier to make than you might think and just as delicious. For those of you who aren’t familiar with guanciale, Chef Stevie tells us it’s available at many specialty food stores. Pancetta is a suitable substitute, Stevie says (as long as you don’t tell his grandmother). Pair with 2021 King Estate Chardonnay or a sparkling wine like our 2018 King Estate Brut Cuvée. (Heads up! Our 2019 Brut Cuvée is coming out soon). Stevie notes that the effervescence of a sparkling wine helps to cut through the fattiness and adds an “extra chew” to the pasta.
Please note that we are not serving this dish in our Restaurant. It’s one of many DIY recipes and other cooking tricks and tips that we hope to share with you over the coming weeks as our team invites you along on their culinary adventures!
This recipe serves two people.
Ingredients
6 oz guanciale, medium dice
2 farm eggs whole
3 farm egg yolks
4 oz truffle pecorino or plain pecorino, freshly grated
1 tsp black pepper freshly cracked
14 oz spaghetti
½ cup of pasta cooking water
½ oz of fresh Oregon truffles (optional)
Assemble
Season pasta cooking water with a generous amount of salt. For a 4-quart pot, I would add about 6 T.
Dice guanciale and crisp in a pan. Reserve the rendered fat.
In a mixing bowl, combine whole eggs, 2 egg yolks, reserved guanciale fat, freshly grated pecorino, and black pepper. Mix very well until homogenous.
Cook pasta until al dente. Don’t forget to reserve pasta water!
Once the pasta is cooked and 1/2 cup of water set aside, drain but do not rinse! Add cooked pasta to pan with WARM guanciale and WARM egg mixture, toss generously and keep it moving. This step is crucial because if your pasta is too hot, it will too quickly cook the egg mixture, scrambling your eggs; if it isn’t hot enough, the egg mixture will not coat pasta correctly.
Once mixed thoroughly you should see the sauce slightly thicken and coat noodles like a creamy sauce. DO NOT put back onto the heat!
Plate up carbonara in a pasta bowl and garnish with more pecorino, freshly cracked black pepper, the last egg yolk and fresh Oregon truffles if you can get your hands on them. I prefer grating the truffles with a microplane instead of using a truffle slicer for this dish. It is easier to incorporate truffle into every bite and clings to the long strands of spaghetti more evenly.
After the dish is served and the presentation appreciated, go ahead and stir the egg yolk into the pasta and enjoy!
