Gnocchi Carbonara
The Roman classic on soft potato gnocchi. Crisp guanciale, a silky sauce of egg and pecorino, plenty of black pepper.
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total
- 25 min
- serves
- 2
- level
- easy
Carbonara is a lesson in restraint: pork, egg, cheese, pepper. The sauce is just egg and pecorino, loosened with starchy cooking water. Real carbonara has no cream in it.
Gnocchi work well here. They come out of the pot loaded with starch, and their soft bite plays off the crisp guanciale. Everything happens fast at the end, so have each part ready before the gnocchi hit the water.
method
Put the guanciale in a cold, dry frying pan and set it over medium heat. Let the fat render slowly for 6 to 8 minutes, until the pieces are golden and crisp. Turn off the heat and leave everything in the pan.
Whisk the yolks, whole egg, pecorino and most of the pepper into a thick paste.
Cook the gnocchi in well salted boiling water until they float, then give them 30 seconds more. Scoop out a full cup of the cooking water before you drain them.
Tip the gnocchi into the pan with the guanciale. Toss them through the warm fat for 30 seconds, off the heat.
Loosen the egg mixture with 3 to 4 tablespoons of the hot cooking water, whisking as you pour. Add it to the pan and keep tossing. The leftover heat turns it into a glossy sauce that clings to every gnocco. Add more water if it tightens up.
Serve right away, under more pecorino and the rest of the pepper.
chef's tips
- The pan must be off the heat when the egg goes in. Direct heat gives you scrambled eggs.
- The starchy cooking water is the sauce. Save a full cup.
- Use Pecorino Romano, not parmesan. The dish is built on its sharp, salty edge.