Anyone looking for spaghetti carbonara with the Thermomix® will find here a version that is upfront about what it is: smoked back bacon instead of guanciale, onion, garlic and a few basil leaves. The Roman original looks different. This version is a German-alpine take on the dish, and it tastes good. For 4 servings you need 30 minutes in total.
Spaghetti Carbonara with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 11 ✓
- 120 g Parmesan
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 onion
- 150 g smoked back bacon
- 500 g spaghetti
- 10 g olive oil
- 4 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 5 basil leaves
- 1/2 tsp pepper freshly ground
Instructions 0 / 5
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1
Grate the Parmesan.
Place the Parmesan in pieces in the mixing bowl and grate for 10 seconds / speed 10, then set aside.
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2
Chop the garlic and onion.
Peel the garlic and onion, halve them, place in the mixing bowl and chop for 5 seconds / speed 5. Scrape down with the spatula.
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3
Steam the bacon.
Dice the bacon, add with the oil and steam for 5 minutes / Varoma / speed 1.
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4
Cook the pasta.
Meanwhile bring a large pot of well-salted water to the boil and cook the spaghetti according to packet instructions (about 8 minutes) until al dente. Drain (Tip: the Varoma® makes a perfect pasta colander!), transfer to a bowl and keep warm. The spaghetti must still be hot so that the eggs set.
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5
Combine and serve.
Mix the onion and bacon through the spaghetti. Place the eggs, egg yolks, salt and Parmesan in the mixing bowl and mix for 10 seconds / speed 4, then pour over the spaghetti and combine with the spatula. Serve scattered with basil leaves and pepper.
Tip: This goes best with a green leaf salad with finely sliced onions.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Bacon in the Varoma, pasta alongside
The Thermomix® takes on two tasks here: grating the Parmesan and steaming the bacon with onion and garlic at Varoma heat. The spaghetti cook the classic way in a pot on the hob, al dente after about 8 minutes. We do not cook the pasta in the Thermomix® because 500 g of spaghetti simply do not fit, and because the pasta cooking water serves another purpose: the pasta must still be hot when combined so that the egg mixture sets rather than stays raw. For that reason, drain through the Varoma® as a colander and keep warm briefly in the pot or a bowl.
The bacon runs at Varoma temperature and speed 1 for 5 minutes. If you do not have smoked back bacon to hand, regular smoked lardons work as a substitute. The flavour will be a little less intense, but it still works.
Eggs and Parmesan: the one step where things can go wrong
The recipe uses 4 whole eggs plus 2 egg yolks. We mix them together with the grated Parmesan and salt for 10 seconds at speed 4 in the mixing bowl. This mixture is then poured over the still-hot spaghetti and spread evenly with the spatula. Important: do not heat further in the mixing bowl. The eggs set from the residual heat of the pasta, not from direct heat. If the pasta has already cooled too much, the sauce will be slimy instead of creamy. If the pot is still boiling, you will end up with scrambled eggs.
The 120 g of Parmesan that the recipe calls for is enough for this quantity. If you want more cheese binding, you can swap in Pecorino Romano, which binds with a sharper, saltier flavour. In that case, reduce the salt when seasoning.
To serve: basil and freshly ground pepper on top. No cream, no flour, no argument with carbonara purists, because this version never claimed to be the original.
Anyone looking for more quick spaghetti dishes with the Thermomix®: spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncino requires no meat and is ready in a similar time. If you like the carbonara character as a bake, we also have a carbonara pasta bake with the Thermomix®.
How this version differs from the Roman original
Classic carbonara from Rome uses only four ingredients: guanciale (air-dried pork cheek), Pecorino Romano, egg yolks and pasta water. No cream, no onion, no garlic, no herbs. Our version takes a deliberate different route: we use 200 g of smoked back bacon because every supermarket stocks it, plus onion and garlic for a German-alpine depth of flavour, and basil for serving. Instead of egg yolks alone, we work with 4 whole eggs plus 2 egg yolks, which makes the mixture more stable when combining over the hot spaghetti and is more forgiving for beginners. Pecorino is optional; the Parmesan in the base recipe works just as well. The sauce becomes creamy, as in the original, without a drop of cream, purely through cheese, egg and the residual heat of the freshly drained pasta.
Goes well with: Parmesan.
