| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 50 min |
| Active: | 40 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 4 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, chopped
- 1 large or 2 small yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more
- 3/4 cup shredded gruyere
- 2/3 cup whipping cream
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest (1/2 lemon)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 pound mezzi rigatoni
- Fresh coarsely ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan set over medium heat. Add the pancetta and saute until brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Remove the pancetta from the pan and set aside to cool.
- Add the onions to the pan and cook until golden brown and lightly caramelized, 10 minutes. Add the garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and cook 2 minutes more. Set aside to cool slightly. In a large bowl, whisk together the gruyere, cream, Parmesan, lemon zest, eggs and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water. Add the pasta back to the pan along with the onions, cream mixture, 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water and the pancetta. Toss over low heat until the sauce is thick and coats the pasta, adding pasta water as needed, about 2 minutes (do not boil).
- Season the pasta with lots of pepper. Transfer the pasta to a large, wide serving bowl. Sprinkle with chives and serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 596 |
| Total Fat | 29 g |
| Saturated Fat | 13 g |
| Carbohydrates | 60 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 4 g |
| Protein | 25 g |
| Cholesterol | 189 mg |
| Sodium | 456 mg |
Reviews
Authentic Carbonara is made with ith guanciale (cured pork), eggs, Pecorino Romano cheese, spaghetti pasta, and lots of black pepper. Italians don’t add extra ingredients like cream, milk, garlic, or onions.
This is incredibly good. Second time making it. Wouldn’t change a thing. One of my fave Giada pastas.lots of flavor.
Tried tonight. Outstanding in flavor. Didn’t have all the right cheese so next time I will be prepared.
This is the second time I have made this. I did not want to go to the store so instead of the gruyere I used white cheddar . It turned out just fine. This is not you traditional carbonara but a delicious version . I also topped with parsley instead of chives .
Easy to make and so delicious, one of my new favorite pasta dishes.
Amazing dish! I stuck very strictly to the recipe (I’m a newer cook) and wow! It tasted like a dish you might enjoy in a pricey restaurant. I think next time I’ll add some chicken and (as another reviewer suggested) asparagus. Thanks, Giada!
Excellent tasting dish, easy to prepare and tastes just as good the next day. I made a few substitutions to Giada’s recipe for cost savings and personal preferences. I used Penne pasta, Canadian bacon, cremini and white button mushrooms, and Swiss cheese. To diced green onions, I added chopped baby spinach and sprinkled that over the top. Delish!
Really good. I think I’d use some pasta other than rigitoni – too pasta-y. I think I’d prefer a flat noodle. The lemon was the absolute over-the-moon addition to the dish. I used Jarlsburg, which is slightly cheaper than guyere and it was fabulously stretchy and oozy and cheesy. YUM.
This recipe is rich and wonderful. For the two of us I cut it in half and we ate more than we should have. Suggestion: Try to keep the plates in a warming drawer until you’re just ready to serve it and microwave the saved water so it’s hot as the pasta can cool off so quickly.
Very easy to make! So creamy!