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Bucatini Carbonara

Name: Bucatini Carbonara
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons olive oil; 1 onion ((medium, chopped)); 6 ounces pancetta ((chopped whether you buy thin sliced or chunked)); 3 teaspoons garlic paste ((or 3 cloves garlic, minced)); 1 cup peas ((I use fresh, but you can also use frozen)(cooked)); 1 pound bucatini pasta; Salt for pasta water; 3 eggs; 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Last updated on September 23, 2021. Originally posted on September 30, 2019 By Elaine 52 Comments

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This bucatini carbonara recipe is the personification of comfort food. It’s lightly creamy and so flavorful that your taste buds are going to be doing the ‘cha-cha’ in your mouth.

Forkful of twirled pasta above the bowl with peas and meat

I love this bucatini carbonara meal. LOVE. It’s one of the few times where I will eat a long noodle instead of a pasta like penne or ziti. I’ve tried making it with a more meaty pasta but it just doesn’t taste the same to me. I need the long thick bucatini noodles so the cheese and egg mixture can wrap easily around the pasta strands.

If you are not familiar with bucatini, it is a thick, hollow, spaghetti-like pasta; sort of like a thin straw. I prefer it over spaghetti because I like the thick strands and find it more satisfying to eat.

What is carbonara?

Carbonara is a pasta dish that originated in Rome. It is typically made with spaghetti, hard cheese like parmesan or reggiano, pancetta (or guanciale in Italy), eggs and black pepper.

Ingredients and substitutions

Olive oil – I use cold pressed extra virgin olive oil. I love the peppery taste and think it brings a lot of flavor to any dish.
Onion – I use Vidalia onions because I love their taste but you can use yellow onion or shallots.
Pancetta – I use thinly sliced pancetta here but have also used chunk pancetta in the past. I like both equally.
Garlic – For the past few years, I’ve been using garlic paste more and more. I love being able to squeeze some paste in what I’m cooking without having to deal with chopping garlic. It’s quick and easy and truthfully, no one knows the difference. The only thing that may be remarkable is there aren’t noticeable chunks of garlic floating around. If you love chopping garlic, one teaspoon of garlic paste = One clove of garlic.
Eggs – I use free-range organic large eggs.
Pasta – I use bucatini but if you can’t find it, spaghetti is a good option. I find angel hair pasta too fragile to keep its length and shape as you’re tossing it with the other ingredients.
Parmesan cheese – I like to grate my own. Once you taste freshly grated cheese, you’ll never go back to pre-grated cheese. You can use reggiano or any other hard cheese.
Peas – I usually use fresh peas that I find at either Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. But if you can’t find them, frozen peas will work fine.

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Helpful tips

When cooking your pasta, cook until just al dente. When draining the pasta, don’t run cold water over it as you need it to be hot when you add the egg and cheese mixture. The heat from the pasta cooks the eggs and melts the cheese.
Cook the onions until they are slightly browned before adding the pancetta. Since you are going to continue cooking them together long enough to crisp the pancetta, you don’t want your onions to be overcooked.
One of the tricks to making good carbonara is timing. You have to make sure the onions, pancetta, and peas are ready at the same time as the pasta. That way, when you mix everything together, they cook the eggs and cheese properly.
When cooking fresh peas, use just enough water to almost cover the peas. Bring to a boil and promptly drain. If cooking frozen peas, also use just enough water to cover them, bring the water to a boil, add the peas and cook for 3 minutes.

How to make bucatini carbonara

Pre-step

Fill a stockpot with enough water to boil one pound of pasta. Add salt and bring the water to a boil.

Step one

While the water is heating, put a sauté pan on medium and add oil once the pan reaches full heat.

Chop an onion in small chunks and chop the pancetta. (A)

On the left - Pancetta on a plate with chopped onion on a wooden board. On the right - eggs in a green bowl, cheese in a blue bowl and angle hair pasta on the table

Step two

Add the onion to the sauté pan and sauté for 7 minutes.

Step three

Add pancetta and sauté for another 7 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute

Step four

Meanwhile, cook the peas. See helpful tips.

Step five

Gather eggs and parmesan cheese. (B above)

Step six

Add eggs and cheese into mixing bowl. (C)

Step seven

Whisk the ingredients together. (D)

On the left - a glass bowl with eggs and parmesan cheese in it and on the right - the ingredients whisked together

Step eight

By now the onions and pancetta should be done.

Onion, garlic and pancetta sautéed in a green cast iron pan

Step nine

The pasta should be done at this point. Drain and place in a large bowl. Add egg and cheese mixture and mix until for at least a minute to cook the eggs. Add the onion mixture, peas and mix everything thoroughly but gently so you don’t break the pasta.

Step ten

Transfer to a serving bowl.

Bucatini carbonara in a brown serving bowl

Doesn’t that look delicious?

Time to plate this bucatini carbonara.

Bucatini carbonara served in two grey bowls

Let’s have a closer look at this delicious dish.

And another view.

Overhead view of the bucatini carbonara in a bowl

I hope you enjoyed this bucatini carbonara recipe. Christopher and I really enjoy not only eating the carbonara fresh, but as leftovers as well.

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Please feel free to leave me a comment, what’s your favorite pasta dish?

And as always, may all your dishes be delish!

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