by: Molly Baz
Cook Time
25 minutes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Yield
4 Servings
Total Time
25 minutes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Yield
4 Servings
summary
Carbonara is without question one of the great pasta dishes of all time, and for that, I will forever be grateful to Italy. But there are enough carbonara recipes in this world to last a lifetime, even if you made a different one every single day. So I took a cue from what makes a classic carbonara so delicious—funky salty guanciale (cured pork jowl), lots of imami-laden Parmesan cheese, eggs for richness, and tons of freshly ground black pepper to cut through it all—and came up with this recipe. There is dried Spanish chorizo, a spicy, smoky cured meat that has a lot of the funk and intensity of guanciale but leans a bit smokier in flavor. And I’ve added crispy chickpeas, which sizzle and fry in the fat that is released from the chorizo as it cooks. The vibe of the dish ends up skewing more Spanish in flavor, but the spirit of the dish and the way it all comes together is quintessentially Italian. Don’t let your fear of accidentally scrambling the eggs scare you away—I’ll teach ya how to temper the beaten eggs with a splash of pasta water so they don’t go into shock when they hit the hot pasta.
ingredients
- ½ lemon
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 large egg
- 2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about ½ cup), plus more for serving
- Kosher salt
- 4 ounces cured (Spanish) chorizo (about a 6-inch piece)
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can chickpeas
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound dried rigatoni
directions
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil.
- Make the egg mixture: In a medium bowl, whisk together 4 egg yolks and 1 whole egg. Whisk in 2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (½ cup).
- Start the sauce: Dice 1 (4-ounce) piece of Spanish chorizo into ¼-inch pieces.
- Thoroughly drain and rinse 1 (14.5-ounce) can of chickpeas in a fine-mesh strainer.
- In a large Dutch oven, combine the chorizo and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Cook over medium heat until it just starts to sizzle, about 3 minutes.
- Add the chickpeas and stir well to coat in the oil. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally and crushing some of the chickpeas with the back of a wooden spoon, until they are crisp in some areas and the chorizo has leeched out some of its red oil, 5 to 6 minutes longer. Coarsely grind lots of black pepper into the pot to bloom the pepper and bring out its aroma. Remove the pot from the heat.
- Cook the pasta: While the chickpeas cook, add the rigatoni to the boiling water and give it a stir. Cook according to the package directions for al dente. Scoop out and reserve 1 ½ cups of the pasta water, then drain the pasta.
- Whisk ½ cup of the reserved pasta water into the egg and Parmesan mixture until well combined.
- Bring it all together: Transfer the pasta to the Dutch oven along with about half of the remaining pasta water. Turn the heat to medium-low and stream in the egg mixture, stirring vigorously and constantly with a spoon, until the pasta is coated in a thick, creamy, pale yellow sauce. You will see it magically transform from a raw egg mixture to a slightly thickened creamy sauce. Add a splash or two more pasta water if it looks a little too thick and could be saucier.
- Finely grate the zest of ½ lemon into the pasta. Taste and add more salt and black pepper if you think it needs it.
- Serve: Top with more grated Parmesan and black pepper and serve.
