I can't find miso, what can I use instead?

You could add half a teaspoon of fish sauce to get a similar umami flavour - or leave the miso out completely.

What's the best pasta to use for this?

Carbonara works well with lots of different pasta shapes, so you can choose what you like! I love using spaghetti, penne or rigatoni as well as fettuccine.

Can I reheat the pasta?

Carbonara is a tricky one to reheat, but the best way to do it is on the stovetop. Add a little water to the pasta in a small pot, then gently toss it as you heat it over low heat.

Can I use pancetta instead of guanciale?

You definitely can - guanciale can be hard to find and pancetta is a great alternative.

Quick Spaghetti Carbonara with Miso

Name: Quick Spaghetti Carbonara with Miso
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Cuisine: italian
Ingredients: 3.5oz/100g pecorino romano, plus 2 tablespoons extra to serve (or use parmesan or grada padano); 3.5oz/100g guanciale (or use streaky bacon, pancetta or chorizo); 2 eggs, at room temperature; 1 tablespoon white miso paste; Freshly ground black pepper (roughly 1 tablespoon); 7oz/200g spaghetti (or other pasta of your choice)

Description

This quick and easy miso carbonara is the ULTIMATE simple pasta dish. It takes just 15 minutes and is carbonara the Italian way – no cream in sight! A handful of basic ingredients come together to make the most luscious, glossy sauce and adding miso paste brings an unreal savoury depth you’re going to love.

The trick with this recipe is to have everything prepped and ready to go before you begin because once you start, things need to come together quickly.

Ingredients

Units Scale

3.5oz/100g pecorino romano, plus 2 tablespoons extra to serve (or use parmesan or grada padano)
3.5oz/100g guanciale (or use streaky bacon, pancetta or chorizo)
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon white miso paste
Freshly ground black pepper (roughly 1 tablespoon)
7oz/200g spaghetti (or other pasta of your choice)

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Instructions

Boil your water. Get a big pot of water on the stove and add 1 tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil while you’re getting everything ready.
Finely dice the guanciale. Chop your guanciale into small cubes and grate your pecorino finely (I like to use a microplane for this if you have one).
Mix the eggs, pecorino and miso. Crack the 2 eggs into a small bowl and add the grated pecorino, 1 tablespoon of miso paste and a good grind of black pepper (around 1 tablespoon). With a fork, give it a very good mix until it resembles a thick paste, pressing down to break up the miso. Set aside.
Cook the guanciale. Set a large, high-sided frying pan or skillet on the stovetop and add the cubed guanciale. Turn the heat to medium and cook, stirring, for about 4 minutes, until the guanciale is starting to get crispy and the fat is rendering out and pooling in the pan. You don’t need to add any oil before adding the guanciale – it’s lovely and fatty enough. But, if you’re using bacon, ham, chorizo or pancetta, you may need to add a little oil if the meat is lean and not releasing fat. I like my guanciale super crispy, but if you like it softer you can stop cooking when it’s looking right for you. When you’re satisfied, turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid if it has one, or a large plate.
Cook your pasta according to packet instructions. Once your pasta is al dente (still with a little bite to it) it’s time to put it all together. This is when you need to work quickly and confidently!
Make the carbonara. Drizzle 1/4 cup of pasta cooking water into the egg, pecorino and miso paste, stirring vigorously with a fork while doing it. This is going to temper the paste (it will raise the temperature slightly and gradually so it lowers the risk of it splitting and scrambling when you add it to the hot pasta pan). Transfer the pasta directly from the pot to the pan with the guanciale and turn the heat to low. Give it a quick toss, and when you start to hear the guanciale sizzling, turn the heat off. Then add the paste into the pan with the pasta and guanciale and give it a really good toss with tongs to coat every pasta strand. This is where you’ll start to see the texture of the sauce change – it’ll become runny at first, then start to thicken up and go super glossy the longer you toss it through the hot pasta.
Adjust sauce if needed. If you find the sauce is too runny for your liking, you can add a little more grated pecorino to the pan and toss through to thicken it up. Likewise, if it’s not runny enough, add a little more pasta cooking water to the pan and toss through. If it’s really not thickening up, turn the heat to the lowest setting and toss the pasta over the heat, making sure not to let it get too hot.
Garnish and serve. You want to serve carbonara right away, so divide the pasta between two serving plates, then top with more grated pecorino and an extra grind of black pepper.

Notes

INGREDIENT NOTES: Use any pasta shape you like for this carbonara – I love using fettuccine or rigatoni too. If you can’t find guanciale you can use bacon, chorizo, ham or prosciutto, but you may need to add a little oil to the pan before cooking. Start with 1 teaspoon and see how you go.

STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: This pasta is best served straight away – the gorgeous glossy sauce will thicken up as it sits and it’s a tricky one to reheat. If you do reheat it, you can do it gently on the stovetop over low heat, or in the microwave. You’ll need to add about 1 tablespoon of water to it when you do this, just to loosen the sauce back up.

Prep Time: 5
Cook Time: 10
Category: pasta
Method: stove top
Cuisine: italian

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 bowl

Keywords: carbonara, spaghetti carbonara, easy carbonara recipe