Description
Rich pasta lovers adore this tortellini carbonara recipe from Italy’s culinary tradition. Creamy parmesan, crisp pancetta, and perfectly cooked pasta create a comforting meal you’ll crave again and again.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 oz (115 g) pancetta or bacon (diced)
- 20 oz (550 g) cheese tortellini (fresh or refrigerated for best texture)
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 large whole egg
- ¾ cup (75 g) grated Parmesan cheese (or Pecorino Romano)
- Extra Parmesan cheese
- 2 cloves garlic (minced, optional but flavorful)
- 1 tsp salt (for boiling water)
- ½ tsp black pepper (freshly cracked for best flavor)
- ¼ cup reserved pasta water (adjust as needed for creaminess)
- Freshly chopped parsley
- Extra cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Boiling Preparation: Fill a large pot with water, generously season with salt, and heat to a vigorous boil over high flames.
- Pasta Cooking: Gently submerge tortellini into the roiling water, stirring intermittently to prevent clustering, and cook until achieving an al dente texture with a subtle firmness at the core.
- Liquid Preservation and Draining: Strategically reserve a small measure of starchy pasta water before thoroughly straining the tortellini through a colander, allowing brief resting time while assembling the remaining sauce elements.
Notes
- Prevent Pasta Sticking: Stir gently and consistently during initial cooking to ensure tortellini doesn’t clump together or adhere to pot bottom.
- Reserve Pasta Water: Save starchy cooking liquid before draining, which helps create silky smooth sauce and assists in perfect sauce consistency.
- Temperature Control: Maintain rolling boil but avoid aggressive bubbling that might break delicate tortellini edges during cooking process.
- Cook Al Dente: Watch carefully and remove tortellini precisely when center offers slight resistance, ensuring optimal texture and preventing mushy outcome.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Lunch
- Method: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5
- Calories: 540
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 800 mg
- Fat: 26 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 16 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 56 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 22 g
- Cholesterol: 170 mg