Fettucine Rigate alla Carbonara

Rarely can I pass up a pasta! Angolo Soho executive chef Michael Berardino was kind enough to provide this wonderful recipe, untangling the mystery of his carbonara. His dish is actually rather simple though, done in classic Italian style, without the heavy cream so often used in the Americanized version.

Fettucine Rigate alla Carbonara

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 lb. fettucine
¼ tbsp. ground black pepper (about 90 turns from a pepper mill)
3 oz. pancetta cut into strips 1/2" by 1/4"
2 oz.  Pecorino Romano cheese, grated fine on microplane
4 egg yolks
2 ½ tbsp. unsalted butter
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Drop the pasta into the water and stir to keep from sticking. 

While the pasta is cooking, place the pancetta in a large saute pan and cook until crisp and rendered. Pour off half of the fat, and add the black pepper. Toast the pepper until aromatic. Add a little butter and 1tsp of EVOO.

Remove the pancetta, reserve on the side, and add some of the pasta cooking water to form an emulsified sauce. 

Once the pasta is cooked, remove from the water, drain well, and add directly to the sauce. 

Add the remaining butter, the pancetta, and the pecorino cheese.  

Mix well to combine and if needed add pasta water to adjust the consistency of the sauce. 

Plate the pasta into 4 bowls, leaving a little well in the center for the egg yolk. 

Finish with the egg yolk, a couple cracks of black pepper and a little grated pecorino.

Angolo Soho is located at 331 W Broadway (@ Grand St). Visit AngoloSoho.com for more info.

First published in part in Next Magazine.
Photo Credit: Gustavo Monroy