Pasta Carbonara with Peas Recipe
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The key to this simple weeknight meal is cooking the eggs just enough to make a creamy sauce without overcooking them. So first, crisp the pancetta; then, while the pasta cooks, mix the eggs with the pecorino and Parmesan cheeses. While the drained pasta is still hot, toss it with the cooked pancetta and eggs. This method provides enough gentle heat to create a creamy, rich sauce and virtually eliminates the chance of scrambling the eggs. The addition of peas, though heavily debated, adds a touch of brightness to this classic Italian dish.
What to buy: Look for pancetta in gourmet groceries and Italian markets. Or you can make your own. In a pinch, you can substitute bacon.
This recipe was featured as part of our How to Make Pancetta project.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 ounces pancetta, small dice
- Kosher salt
- 1 pound linguine
- 3 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese (about 1 1/2 ounces), plus extra for serving
- 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about 3/4 ounce)
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring often, until browned and most of the fat has been rendered, about 12 to 14 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs and yolks in a medium bowl until combined. Add the cheeses and whisk until evenly combined; set aside.
- Drain the cooked pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water, and immediately return the hot pasta to the pot. Stir in the reserved egg-cheese mixture, reserved pancetta and pan drippings, peas, measured pepper, and just enough pasta cooking water to make the mixture creamy (you may not need all of it). Taste and season with additional pepper as needed.
- Transfer the pasta to a serving dish and serve immediately, passing the extra grated cheeses on the side.
Beverage pairing: 2005 Pallavicini Frascati. Think bright, crisp, and white. A delicate Frascati from the volcanic soils near Rome would be the perfect complement to cut through the richness of this traditional Roman pasta. Composed of varying percentages of Malvasia and Trebbiano, and vinified completely in stainless steel, the 2005 Pallavicini Frascati is an ideal match.
One of my favorites. I'm a pescetarian, so I used smoked salmon cooked in olive oil instead of pancetta. Still delicious.
Absolutely delicious! I used uncured bacon instead of pancetta and added two cloves of pressed garlic that I mixed in to the pasta with the other ingredients at the end. I also added freshly ground black pepper and it turned out amazing.
This recipe was easy and delicious, liked carbonera without peas, but loved it with! (used fresh not frozen)
sounds good - simple and it's like florentine peas style recipe with a roman twist! Can Rome and Florence unite?
Peas don't belong! Black pepper does, thoguh.
I think it all sounds great, and can't wait to try this recipe. I love all of the ideas, but I also like peas.
Very simple, if you are not found of peas, don't even consider adding them.
Sounds like the original does not call for peas, but if you like them, give it a try just to change things up once in a while.
The dish is certainly well made and tastey, but it is unfair to call it a Carbonara due to the variations(especially the peas) A Carbonara is a Carbonara. This is "Regan's Linguine and Peas". Carbonara is not a sauce like marinara, it is a unique dish on its own. Basta!
Great idea adding peas to this dish. Peas traditionally go with bacon and similar pork products in Italian cuisine. I grew up eating my mother's chopped bacon and peas. Also, the peas give a nice touch of color. On the other hand, a short pasta is usually selected when peas are used. I wonder how this recipe would turn out using small shell pasta instead of linguine. I'll have to try it.
No peas, please. No parmesan. And guanciale, not pancetta. Carbonara, for me (and many others), is one of those dishes for which the traditional recipe (eggs, guanciale, pecorino romano, pepper -- period) tastes best.
You want peas in your pasta? Fine. Use short pasta, pair the peas with springtime flavors, like mint or green garlic, and maybe toss in some pancetta. But leave the peas out of the carbonara.
The sweet/"green" taste of the peas cuts the richness of the egg and the saltiness of the pork. I LOVE it with peas!
Why must you do this to me? Why do cooks, particularly those in Italian restaurants, ruin a perfectly good carbonara by dousing it with peas?
Your recipe sounds as close to the carbonara we make. I don't know if it's a regional thing or not, but we lived in Sicily for a few years, and I don't remember carbonara there, that didn't include peas. We're going to try a couple of the ideas from the comments too. (adding the wine will be the first.)
Thx!
I place an egg yolk on top of the dish and mix it in after serving
I don't think peas go well with this dish or long pasta in general. However, when I make pasta pesto I always make it with peas.
I'm still drooling at the idea of a dish with the temperature and texture of sherbert, and the flavour of hot peppers...LOL
*puts on thinking cap*
In response to the fresh or dried pasta question: I would go with dry. Purely in terms of taste, you need firmer pasta as a contrast to the creamy sauce. Plus, in making the sauce you need to move the hot pasta around a lot to "cook" the eggs. I'm afraid that fresh pasta would not be able to stand up to all that mixing. You might end up with a soft mushy mess.
Great recipe. I also use a mix of guanciale and bacon. I caramelize a small amount of onions in the pork fat for an extra sweetness. Definitely no cream, but I don't mind the addition of peas.
ah..i was forgetting..the cheese is mixed with the eggs separately and added at the end of the recipe when the pasta is already mixed with the sauce made with the Guanciale and its fat
not he peas in the carbonara...and it's not so simple to do the sauce because the "creamy" appearance of the dish it's not done by mixing the cheese, the water and the eggs together.
The real "Carbonara" is very tricky because you have to add the eggs in the end when you have already prepared the dish and the tricky aspect is to add the eggs in a way that they do not cook so much (becoming an omelette) or remain crude..they have to cook that little amount (only thanks to the heat of the pasta) to become creamy.
Carbonara has been a family favorite for years, and i've been making it since i was thirteen. Too many people have only seen it made with cream sauce, so thank you for posting a "traditional," non-Americanized version (not wild about the peas, however).
I can't wait to make this! It seems so easy!
I have had linguini alla carbonara at "Carbonara Ristorante" in Rome, where it's made with "Guanciale", lots of black peper and no cream. Of course, food can always be modified according to individual taste.
If you don't serve this on warmed plates/bowls (which you should get in the habit of doing for many hot foods, btw) - not just the serving piece - you will be significantly reducing the goodness of the dish.
And, yes, for people wondering where the cream is - it belongs in Alfredo-like sauces, not carbonara. Carbonara's delicate taste of egg would be ruined with cream.
Agreed on tempering the eggs with hot pasta water, it's absolutely a necessity to doing the dish properly.
Also, I mix the scorching hot pasta with the tempered eggs in a metal bowl, not in the hot pan, for the same purpose of not scrambling the eggs. The pasta is still plenty hot for 'cooking' the egg---when you do it in the pan, you'll find the egg that hits the bottom will instantly scramble up.
I like to use a variety of meats, as they do at Crispo in NYC -- a combination of guanciale (which is the most authentic meat to use in the dish, if you can get it), smoked pancetta, and thick cut bacon.
And I like to throw a couple of whole cloves of garlic in with the bacon while they're cooking, to get that flavor in. Remove them to serve or eat them whole, they're amazingly soft and sweet.
No peas please! This is a bacon lover's dish, peas have no place in it, in my opinion. Nor does cream of course.
Try cooking the pancetta with anchioves (crashing it of course just a stip) Oh so good. It adds flavor to the already good carbonara. Very tasty. No peas please.
I love a good carbonara, but please don't ruin it with peas. Do you dump hot pepper sauce in your ice cream?
Delicious, I love how simple the recipe is also that can feed few people over for dinner.
Don't forget fresh ground black pepper - that's what put the "carbon" in carbonara, said to be coal miner's food.
I do the same with the hot water, and tempering just means to slowly get the eggs used to the rise in temperature slowly so that they don't freak out and scramble on you. Drizzle the reserved hot water from the pasta slowly into the eggs, the same way that you would add oil to vinegar when you are making vinaigrette. I think even a quarter cup of hot liquid would be enough; too much water can weaken the sauce. If you need more sauciness, you could always add a tablespoon or so of heavy cream.
wow, sounds great. i love that it sounds so easy, delicious and simple. you should have more recipes like this that a normal working person can make!
Good recipe.
I like to temper the hot pasta water into the eggs before adding it to the pasta. It gives a less scrambled more creamy sauce.
Is dried pasta better than fresh pasta for this dish?
I use a very similar recipe, but cook the pancetta with a little diced onion and then deglaze with white wine. It adds a wonderful caramelized sweetness to the whole dish.
this recipe is freakishly easy. There is really no way you can screw it up. It is so good, with just the perfect amount of salt. I looked at some recipes that call for just four whole eggs but i have a feeling the 3 eggs + 2 egg yolks made all the difference.
SO GOOD.
Very nice recipe. Good combination with the peas for taste and appealing presentation. Sometimes, I saute' some onions along with the pancetta. The result is very good and worth trying for a change.
Thanks for the good idea.
Paola
This is just like the recipe that I use, except I just use 4 eggs. It is wonderful. Plus, I always have to add parsley to everything. And sometimes it is nice to add a bit of crushed garlic.
Thank you for the recipe.
Becky