Learn how to make an authentic Rigatoni Carbonara, a quintessential Roman pasta, from Chef Paul C. Reilly. His restaurant, Coperta, celebrates Roman trattoria fare and “Cucina del Mezzogiorno”, the food and wine of Southern Italy.
Rigatoni Carbonara
Rigatoni Carbonara
Chef Paul C. Reilly
Cook time: 20 minutes
What is Pecorino Romano?
Pecorino Romano, a sheep's milk cheese, is and essential ingredient when cooking authentic Roman Pastas. Paul C. Reilly, Chef/Owner of Coperta, will teach you about Pecorino Romano and show you how prep it for next time you make Rigatoni Carbonara or Bucatini all'Amatriciana!
What is guanciale and how do you prep it for making Roman Pastas?
Guanciale is cured pork jowl (cheek), and it is an essential ingredient if you want to make authentic Roman Pastas. It’s called face bacon for a reason. In the video below, Chef Paul will show you how to prep guanciale for making rigatoni carbonara.
How many eggs go in carbonara?
For 1 pound of pasta, we are using 3 whole eggs and 3 eggs yolks. This gets whisked together with finely grate Pecorino Romano to create an egg custard, which is the sauce for carbonara.
What is the best way to grind black peppercorns for Carbonara?
To grind black peppercorns for Roman pastas, it's best to use a mortar and pestle or a molcajete.
Ingredients List
1 pound rigatoni
1/8 cup Kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 to 8 oz of guanciale
1 tablespoon of black peppercorns, ground
3 whole eggs
3 egg yolks
100g finely grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for garnish
Black peppercorns, ground
Paul C. Reilly, Chef/Owner of Coperta in Denver, Colorado.
Prep:
Remove the skin from the guanciale, then dice into large pieces (Click for video)
Finely grate the Pecorino Romano (Click for video)
Prepare the egg custard (Click for video)
Grind your black peppercorns (Click for video)
Have your water for cooking the pasta in already boiling
How to make authentic Rigatoni Carbonara
Step 1
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the kosher salt. Then add the pasta and give it a stir so that the pasta doesn’t stick.
Step 2
Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. This just prevents the guanciale from sticking. Add the guanciale and stir a few times to coat it in the oil. We are going to lightly caramelize and render it. Crispy chunks of guanciale is not the goal. The rendered fat will help the sauce emulsify. Once the guanciale chunks start to brown a little, you can turn the heat down to low. Let it go a little bit longer and then you a just remove it from the heat until the pasta is done.
Step 3
Whisk the egg custard again for about 30 seconds.
Step 4
Cook the pasta until it is al dente (Paul explains what this is in the class). Ours took about 10 minutes to get to al dente.
Step 5
Once the pasta is al dente, put the guanciale back on medium heat. Add about 2 ounces of pasta water to the pan. Use a spider or strainer to transfer the rigatoni from the pot directly into your skillet. If all of the pasta doesn’t fit that’s okay. You need some room in the skillet to mix in the egg custard and to emulsify everything.
Step 6
Once you hear the pasta water and the guanciale fat boiling, give everything a good stir.
Step 7
Whisk the egg custard one last time, turn the heat to low, and add the custard to the skillet. Refer to the class video for the best technique, but keep moving the custard so that the eggs don’t scramble. You can remove the skillet from the heat sometimes, too. One the custard no longer runs and stays “set” in the skillet, it’s done. Add the black pepper and stir to combine.
Step 8
To serve, transfer to a large plate and top with more grated Pecorino Romano and ground black pepper.
Rigatoni Carbonara
Ingredients
- 1 pound rigatoni
- 1/8 cup Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 to 8 oz of guanciale
- 1 tablespoon of black peppercorns, ground
- 3 whole eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- 100g finely grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for garnish
- Black peppercorns, ground
Instructions
- Remove the skin from the guanciale, then dice into large pieces (Click for video)
- Finely grate the Pecorino Romano (Click for video)
- Prepare the egg custard (Click for video)
- Grind your black peppercorns (Click for video)
- Have your water for cooking the pasta in already boiling
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the kosher salt. Then add the pasta and give it a stir so that the pasta doesn’t stick.
- Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. This just prevents the guanciale from sticking. Add the guanciale and stir a few times to coat it in the oil. We are going to lightly caramelize and render it. Crispy chunks of guanciale is not the goal. The rendered fat will help the sauce emulsify. Once the guanciale chunks start to brown a little, you can turn the heat down to low. Let it go a little bit longer and then you a just remove it from the heat until the pasta is done.
- Whisk the egg custard again for about 30 seconds.
- Cook the pasta until it is al dente (Paul explains what this is in the class). Ours took about 10 minutes to get to al dente.
- Once the pasta is al dente, put the guanciale back on medium heat. Add about 2 ounces of pasta water to the pan. Use a spider or strainer to transfer the rigatoni from the pot directly into your skillet. If all of the pasta doesn’t fit that’s okay. You need some room in the skillet to mix in the egg custard and to emulsify everything.
- Once you hear the pasta water and the guanciale fat boiling, give everything a good stir.
- Whisk the egg custard one last time, turn the heat to low, and add the custard to the skillet. Refer to the class video for the best technique, but keep moving the custard so that the eggs don’t scramble. You can remove the skillet from the heat sometimes, too. One the custard no longer runs and stays “set” in the skillet, it’s done. Add the black pepper and stir to combine.
- To serve, transfer to a large plate and top with more grated Pecorino Romano and ground black pepper.
Notes
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