Pasta alla carbonara with Auricchio

Method

1. Cut the pig's cheek into thin strips and brown them lightly in a frying pan over a medium flame, so that the fat can be released and the meat become crispier. Once it's done, put it on a layer of kitchen towel, leaving the fat residues in the pan. 
2. Boil the pasta in salted water, then strain it into the frying pan and continue to cook adding broth ladle by ladle as necessary. 
3. Meanwhile mix the egg yolks with some fizzy water, plenty of black pepper and the grated Auricchio. 
4. When the pasta is just half-cooked, take the frying pan off the flame and immediately add the egg yolk mixture, incorporating it vigorously so as to avoid reducing the egg to shreds. 
5. Serve adding the crispy pig’s cheek on top together with more grated Provolone, to taste. 

Chef's tip

If you are vegetarian but still want to enjoy this dish look out for smoked tofu and use it to replace the pig's cheek. Another option is to replace the meat with vegetables of your choice, cut 'à la julienne', and walnut bits.

Serving suggestion

This is a rich dish, so we suggest you to serve it together with a light colourful salad! Feel free to add tomatoes, carrots, onions (or whatever floats your boat) to the green leaves!

Wine selection

We suggest you drink a white dry wine like a Friulano Friuli Aquileia DOC Superiore, a Greco di Tufo or a Nuragus di Cagliari. Among the red wines Bardolino DOC is a good pick!

Family tip

Should the Auricchio piccante be 'too much' for you, replace it with the mild one!

Dish history

Pasta alla carbonara is a typical dish from the region Lazio, more particularly from Rome itself, made with popular ingredients and characterised by an intense flavour. Traditionally Italians use spaghetti to make this recipe, but other kinds of pasta work just as well, like for instance penne, fusilli and macaroni (mezze maniche). Three main hypotheses exist on exactly how the dish was invented, but none of them has been confirmed. Some say it was thanks to the Americans who, at the end of World War II, were looking for dishes made with familiar ingredients (like bacon and eggs) and so gave Italian cooks the idea of mixing them with pasta. Another theory says it was invented by Italian charcoal burners, who used to take long-life ingredients with them (bacon, eggs and pasta). Finally, some believe this dish was invented in the Neapolitan area since its preparation method resembles some other recipes from that region.