A Tagliatelle Carbonara without cream is easy to make and ready in just 15 minutes. The cheese and eggs on their own still give a nice creamy texture without being heavy. I find that using tagliatelle rather than the traditional spaghetti means the pasta doesn't stick together quite as much. A carbonara is made with bacon or pancetta but is also a great way to use up any leftover gammon or ham. If you're looking for an alternative to bacon, you might like my Smoked Salmon Carbonara.
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Common Questions
A carbonara is an Italian pasta dish that originates from Rome. Traditionally, it is made with eggs, a hard italian cheese such as pecorino, parmesan or grano padano. These ingredients make up the sauce, which you then mix with ham or bacon. The word Carbonara might come from the Italian word for 'charcoal burner', which is carbonaro. Some believe the dish was first made as a hearty meal for Italian charcoal workers.
The egg mixture is added raw to the pasta and the heat of the pasta cooks the eggs. The first time you cook this recipe, it may seem strange, but trust me, this is how the Italians have been making it for centuries. You will know when the eggs are cooked because you will see the texture change.
The most common pasta to use in a carbonara is spaghetti. However, I find tagliatelle works really well and doesn't clump together as much as spaghetti. You could also use linguine, which is not quite as wide as tagliatelle. All of these types of pasta are long ribbons which you need for a carbonara rather than smaller pasta shapes.
Carbonara Ingredients
Pasta. You can use any long ribbon like pasta in a carbonara.
Eggs. Any size eggs will do. I would always recommend using free range or organic eggs if you can.
Cheese. To make a carbonara, you need a hard italian cheese such as parmesan, pecorino or grano padano. Pecorino is whiter in colour than parmesan and also slightly softer. Parmesan is harder, drier and has a slightly more nutty flavour. Grano padano is not matured for as long as parmesan and again is slightly softer than parmesan. It's also usually a bit cheaper and often used in cooking.
Bacon I make this dish with unsmoked bacon. You can use back bacon or streaky, which is more fatty. You can also use pancetta which is often sold cubed or lardons. This recipe is also great for using up any leftover ham or gammon.
Butter I always used unsalted butter to keep the salt levels down as there is lots of salt in the bacon and the cheese. It will still work well with salted butter, but don't use oils.
Tips and Variations
The creaminess in this carbonara sauce comes from the egg and cheese so it doesn't need any cream adding to it. Some recipes use cream but a traditional Italian Carbonara just uses eggs and milk.
Adding the eggs and cheese. The biggest mistake people make is too much heat. Even though it might seem odd, before you add the egg and cheese mixture, you need to remove the pan from the heat. The heat that is already in the pasta will cook the eggs. We are aiming for a silky smooth sauce. A few splashes of the pasta water will help loosen the sauce and create that silky texture. This is because the pasta water contains startch from the pasta.
Variations. Instead of bacon, or ham, you can also make a carbonara with chicken. Make sure the chicken is properly cooked before adding in the pasta.
Extra Vegetables In order to make this dish go further, you can add peas or mushrooms. Fry the mushrooms up with the bacon and add the peas to the pasta water for the last few minutes to defrost and cook.
Serving Suggestion
I like to serve this tagliatelle carbonara with a side of broccoli to add extra colour and nutrition. You could also serve it with a green salad or other green vegetables such as green beans.
How to make it
- Put a large pan of lightly salted water on to boil. Beat the eggs together in a bowl, season with freshly ground black pepper and stir in most of the cheese. Put the tagliatelle into the pan and cook as per the packet instructions. Steam the broccoli over the top for the last 4 -5 minutes if you're serving it with broccoli.
- Melt the butter in a large frying pan. Using the back of a knife, press down on the garlic bulbs. This helps the flavour to be released. Add to the frying pan.
- Add the bacon or pancetta or leftover gammon and fry the meat, stirring often until it it crispy. The leftover gammon won't crisp up in the same way as the bacon, just fry it for 2 minutes to heat through. Remove the garlic cloves with a slotted spoon and discard. The garlic flavour will be left.
- Keep the heat on low and when the tagliatelle is cooked, scoop out a small cup of pasta water and put to one side. Drain the rest and empty the pasta into the frying pan with the meat. Toss it all together and make sure the pasta is well coated in the butter. This is important to make the eggs and cheese stick to the pasta.
- The crucial moment. You need a couple of minutes undisturbed. Take the frying pan off the heat and quickly pour in the eggs and cheese. Toss it furiously together and once it begins to thicken, add a splash of the pasta water to loosen it. Add more water until you get the desired consistency.
- Toss it again and serve immediately with the remainder of the cheese sprinkled on top and some more freshly ground black pepper. Serve with the broccoli or other green vegetables or salad.
Sustainability
Tagliatelle Carbonara is a great dish for using up any leftover gammon or ham you might have from a Roast Gammon. I've suggested using broccoli to go with it, but use anything green and in season. If you can, try to buy your vegetables loose and from a local source. All the ingredients are available as organic. Black peppercorns are available as Fairtrade and will last you ages. Buying Fairtrade can make a massive difference to some of the world's poorest farmers
Storage
Carbonara can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days. Because it already has the egg and cheese mixed in, it's best only re-heated in a microwave. Personally, I like it cold and it makes a great lunch the next day. It doesn't freeze well because of the eggs which take on a rubbery texture when frozen.
Recipe Video
📖 Recipe
Tagliatelle Carbonara No Cream
Ingredients
- 3 eggs organic or freerange
- 1 dash black pepper organic, fairtrade, freshly ground
- 100 g Parmesan cheese organic, grated or pecorino or grano padano
- 350 g tagliatelle organic, or other ribbon pasta
- 50 g butter organic, preferably unsalted
- 2 cloves garlic organic, peeled and left whole
- 200 g unsmoked bacon or leftover gammon, cut into small pieces
- 500 g broccoli organic, cut into even sized florets
Instructions
- Put a large pan of lightly salted water on to boil. Beat the eggs together in a bowl, season with freshly ground black pepper and stir in most of the cheese.3 eggs, 1 dash black pepper, 100 g Parmesan cheese
- Put the tagliatelle into the pan and cook as per the packet instructions. Steam the broccoli over the top for the last 4 -5 minutes.350 g tagliatelle, 500 g broccoli
- Melt the butter in a large frying pan. Using the back of a knife, press down on the garlic bulbs. This helps the flavour to be released. Add to the frying pan along with the bacon or pancetta or leftover gammon and fry the meat, stirring often until it it crispy. The leftover gammon won't crisp up in the same way as the bacon, just fry it for 2 minutes to heat through. Remove the garlic cloves with a slotted spoon and discard. The garlic flavour will be left.50 g butter, 2 cloves garlic, 200 g unsmoked bacon
- Keep the heat on low and when the tagliatelle is cooked, scoop out a small cup of pasta water and put to one side then drain the rest and empty the pasta into the frying pan with the meat. Toss it all together and make sure the pasta is well coated in the butter.
- The crucial moment. You need a couple of minutes undisturbed. Take the frying pan off the heat and quickly pour in the eggs and cheese. Toss it furiously together and once it begins to thicken, add a splash of the pasta water to loosen it, add more water until you get the desired creamy consistency.
- Toss it again and serve immediately with the remainder of the cheese sprinkled on top and some more freshly ground black pepper. Serve with the broccoli or other reen vegetables or salad
Notes
Tips and Variations
Adding the eggs and cheese. The biggest mistake people make is too much heat. Even though it might seem odd, before you add the egg and cheese mixture, you need to remove the pan from the heat. The heat that is already in the pasta will cook the eggs. We are aiming for a silky smooth sauce. A few splashes of the pasta water will help loosen the sauce and create that silky texture. This is because the pasta water contains startch from the pasta. Variations. Instead of bacon, or ham, you can also make a carbonara with chicken. Make sure the chicken is properly cooked before adding in the pasta. Extra Vegetables In order to make this dish go further, you can add peas or mushrooms. Fry the mushrooms up with the bacon and add the peas to the pasta water for the last few minutes to defrost and cook.Serving Suggestion
I like to serve this tagliatelle carbonara with a side of broccoli to add extra colour and nutrition. You could also serve it with a green salad or other green vegetables such as green beans.Storing Carbonara
Carbonara can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days. You can re-heat it but because it already has the egg and cheese mixed in, it's best only re-heated in a microwave. It doesn't freeze well due to the eggs.Nutrition per serving
The Nutritional Values are computer generated estimates based on industry standards and are provided as a helpful guide only.
Brenda
Thanks for this . Never thought of using ham this way. It's a great use for the leftovers.