Red Wine Spaghetti (Spaghetti all'Ubriaco) Carbonara
This easy Italian "drunk pasta" recipe does traditional red wine spaghetti much better by making it into a carbonara: pasta with a mild red wine flavor melded with a silky, salty carbonara sauce, dotted with pancetta and topped with cheese, ready in about 20 minutes.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 896kcal
Ingredients
- 16 ounces spaghetti or bucatini
- 2 1/2 cups red wine, such as Chianti or Montepulciano not cooking wine; you can serve the rest
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, small diced
- 4 ounces (1/2 cup) diced pancetta (bacon works, too)
- 1/2 cup aged, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
- 1/2 cup grated pecorino-Romano
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 egg
- Salt and fresh-cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Boil the pasta. Bring a pot of salted water and red wine to a boil. Drop the spaghetti and cook until slightly underdone, a couple minutes shy of al dente.
- Meanwhile, prepare the carbonara sauce. While the pasta water comes to a boil and the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil, diced onion, and pancetta in a large, wide-bottomed skillet over medium-low heat until the fat renders, about 5 or 6 minutes. Stir often to make sure that the onions and pancetta cook without coloring. The onions should become translucent.
- Separately whisk the egg yolks, egg, and grated cheeses into a large mixing bowl. Add a few twists of black pepper if you like. Set aside.
- Add the pasta to the skillet. Use a pair of tongs to drag the slightly undercooked spaghetti into the pancetta and onion skillet, taking a little pasta water along with it. Toss to coat and cook with just enough pasta water to finish the pasta.TIP: If you don't want to work with tongs, you can also dip a mug into the pasta water to reserve, then strain the spaghetti in a colander before adding it to the skillet.
- Transfer the bacon-tossed pasta into the large mixing bowl with the egg and cheese. Toss and stir until the spaghetti is coated in a silky sauce. If it looks too dry or "tight," add pasta water a tablespoon at a time to loosen the sauce.
- Serve. Divide into pasta bowls and serve with a little extra grated cheese. And don't forget to drink the rest of the wine!
Notes
Choosing the Cooking Wine
Never use "cooking wine." Use real red wine. Luckily, it does not have to be expensive. A bottom-shelf, medium- to full-bodied red will work just fine. Trader Joe's has a great selection of reds priced around $4. (Sadly, the days of real "two-buck Chuck" are over.) Avoid red wine that is light in color, such as pinot noir. The color of the wine won't be robust enough.
Nutrition
Calories: 896kcal | Carbohydrates: 93g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 227mg | Sodium: 574mg | Potassium: 592mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 418IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 348mg | Iron: 3mg
Disclaimer: Nutrition information is provided for courtesy purposes only, and is an estimate not verified by medical or nutrition experts. Read the full nutrition disclaimer.
