Newbie Kitchen: A first-timer's attempt at Traditional Fettuccine Carbonara!

Welcome to our inaugural episode of Newbie Kitchen! In this series of videos we'll tackle a recipe or dish which we've never cooked before, purely with guidance from the almighty Internet! Today, we're trying out two different takes on the traditional way of making Carbonara - i.e. without any dairy. Let's see whether two total newbies can nail it on the first try!


List of Ingredients (for 1 portion):
→ 50-60g Guanciale (cured Italian pork jowl)
→ 30-40g Pecorino Romano (Italian sheep's milk cheese)
→ 60-70g Pasta (we used Fettuccine in this video)
→ 1-2 Egg Yolks
→ Black Pepper
→ Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Tips & Tricks for the Newbie Cook:

#1: You don't need Olive Oil - it depends how much oil your Guanciale (or Pancetta or Bacon) renders out into the pan.


#2: Know your pasta! We didn't know how long to cook this pasta so we just winged it (wang it?); it turned out slightly undercooked.


#3: Heat is not your friend (when blending in the egg yolks). Take your pan off the heat otherwise you risk scrambling the egg yolks instead.


Finished Product & Verdict:


It was pretty damn good! Although we're not exactly too sure how much of that success was down to dumb beginners' luck. Will have to find out later on when we try cooking this dish again with our leftover pork jowl and sheep's cheese, though.

If you enjoyed the video, and/or you'd like to share more tips & tricks, we'd absolutely love to hear from you: Leave us your comment below!