Do you watch Criminal Minds? Then you’re in for a treat. This is based on David Rossi’s carbonara recipe!
Remember that episode where Rossi had the team over at his house and taught them how to cook carbonara (how geeky do I sound right now)? I’ve always wanted to make that and after a significant amount of searching I found a recipe in a French fan page that they claimed was from Joe Mantegna himself (yes, I may have too much time on my hands).
I’ve since tweaked it here and there and it is fabulous! No cream, just eggs, pancetta and lotsa cheese. And guess what else? I cooked it! Not Red, me. (Ok, I may have had some help with chopping, slicing and such.)
It’s practically the only thing I can cook (insert: big proud smile right here). So let’s step into the world of BAU for a moment and bask in the deliciousness that is this carbonara.
The Great Egg Challenge
Egg yolks (and not cream) are what make traditional carbonara dreamy and creamy. The first few times I made this I ended up scrambling the eggs; you guys know I have raw egg issues (check out my Eggless Key Lime Pie) so I was eager to pour the eggs into the hot pan and let them sit a little to cook.
What I’ve found is the residual heat from the pasta/pan will cook them so have no fear. And you shouldn’t let the egg mixture sit at all; you need to quickly toss the pasta so the egg mixture coats everything and doesn’t turn into a scrambled mess.
Keep some of that pasta water
Also, don’t throw away the pasta water. I did the first time – I know, rookie mistake. What you want to do is pour about a quarter cup into your pasta, continue mixing until you get the creaminess you want (not too much though, we don’t want it soupy).
Creamy carbonara made with eggs, pancetta and lotsa cheese. Quick, easy and delicious!Click To TweetLove for June
Once you’ve done that you’ll have this amazing dish that’s so quick to prepare it’s perfect for those busy weeknights. It’s so good too it’s great for when you have company over.
Personally, this is a great recipe for me to start off June. Apart from December (Christmas!), June is my favourite month – summer starts, Father’s Day (hey, this is great for Father’s Day!), Pride (Rainbow Cake anyone?), Red’s birthday (remember this London Fog Cake?), my grandpa’s birthday and…my birthday!
David Rossi’s carbonara recipe
Filipinos always have pancit on their birthday (or any celebration) because it signifies good fortune and long life but as I cannot cook pancit (maybe someday), Rossi’s carbonara will have to be my birthday noodles for now.
Hope you give it a try, whether you’re a fan of Criminal Minds
Are you a Criminal Minds fan? This is based on David Rossi’s carbonara recipe from that episode where he had the team over and gave them cooking lessons!
Ingredients
- 1 pound (450 grams) pasta (you can use your favourite pasta: spaghetti, fettuccine, linguine or bucatini)
- 1/2 pound (220 grams) pancetta, diced
- 1 cup chopped onions
- Olive oil for frying
- 1/2 cup (50 grams) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup (50 grams) grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 4 egg yolks from large eggs
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Chopped parsley for serving
Instructions
- Cook 1 pound pasta until al dente. While that's cooking, in a large pan on medium heat cook 1/2 pound diced pancetta and 1 cup chopped onions in olive oil until pancetta is browned and onions are soft.
- Combine your cheese then pour half of it with your 4 egg yolks. Beat lightly until combined.
- At this point your pasta and pancetta should be ready. Drain the pasta (reserve some of the pasta water) and transfer into your pan. Remove from heat.
- Pour your egg mixture into the pan and toss the pasta until coated. Pour about 1/4 cup pasta water in your pan and continue tossing until you get the creaminess you want. If you need to put more pasta water, do so a little at a time so your pasta doesn't get too runny.
- Add the rest of your cheese and toss some more. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve with chopped parsley.
Happy cooking!
Did you try David Rossi’s carbonara recipe? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.
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Carbonara is one of our favorite weeknight meals. I’ve always made it with bacon, but using pancetta is a great idea! Looking forward to trying it out.
Hi Megan! Pancetta is so flavourful, we didn’t even need to add any salt. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
In our house, carbanora is the responsibility of my better half! I will pass this recipe on to him.. it looks delicious. Pure comfort food!
I used to watch Criminal Minds but then it got a little too twisted and violent for me and I stopped a few years ago. This pasta looks really good!
I guess it’s not for everyone 🙂 I guess I’ve always secretly wanted to be a spy or an agent LOL. The carbonara is awesome though! Hope you try it!
I love Carbonara and this looks like a great straight-forward recipe. Can’t wait to try it!
This looks like a delicious carbonara recipe to try! I will make this weekend for dinner one night. Sounds and looks yummy!
Oh yum! I’m only made carbonara once and that was years ago. I need to make this recipe! Looks soo delicious.
Simple and easy to make definitely another winner. The pancetta and cheese makes it so flavourful. I can’t wait to make this. Btw, good luck on your next cooking adventure:)
Aw thanks Robin! You certainly can’t go wrong with cheese and pancetta eh? 🙂 Hope you’re having a fabulous week!
I don’t think I’ve ever eaten pancetta. I will definitely be making this dish this week for my family.
Hi Tami! Pancetta is the Italian version of bacon and like bacon, it makes everything better! 🙂 Hope you guys like it.
Now this looks delish! I never can find the right consistency for my carbonara, but this one really looks like a winner!
Thanks! And I know what you mean about the consistency, can’t be too thick or too runny. I think quickly tossing and coating the pasta with eggs then gradually adding in pasta water should do the trick 🙂
Bob’s Burgers burgers please!
Hahaha now wouldn’t that be fun! 🙂
Haha, I’m not a fan of Criminal Minds but like that you pulled a recipe from a character in show. More people should do this! Nice post.
Mmmm these would be good birthday noodles! Carbonara is a favorite of mine as well, simple and decadent. The first time I read about carbonara was in Ruth Riechel’s book and she called it her hangover cure ha ha!
I can understand how this is an awesome hangover cure lol! And yes I love how simple it is…so few ingredients I was first afraid it would taste really bland but it is anything but 🙂
This looks so delicious! Love this amazing photo. My family loves a good yummy pasta and I’ll be making this for dinner. They’re going to love it.
I am a huge Criminal Minds fan. Wouldn’t it be fun to go to Dave’s place and drink wine? I have had 2 Italian students who taught me how to make carbonara. I always though it used cream but no! This dish is so delicious!
Hello fellow fan! I’d love to just hang out and chill in his backyard too, which looks massive. And I thought carbonara had cream as well (that’s how my mom always made it I wonder how she feels about this haha).
I absolutely LOVE that show! I love this recipe too! What a fun and delicious dish!
It was so much fun recreating it! I’ve been a fan for a while so I was totally geeking out lol!
I have attempted a similar recipe, but I also scrambled the eggs. 🙁 I will have to try again!
Hi Lacee! When that happened to me, we ate it anyway. It was still delicious, albeit a little dry. Hope you try this one. Good luck!
ha! I love eggs, lol, I can’t imagine being turned off by them but I know many people are. This carbonara looks so delish! And easy too!
Hi Jeni! We love eggs too, I just don’t *love* raw ones haha.
OMG I am obsessed with Criminal Minds! I almost stopped watching when Morgan left and they fired Hotch…I’m holding out hope that Morgan comes back though 🙂 I cried like a baby on his last full episode. I love that you created Rossi’s recipe!! I’m going to have to try this one for sure
I know, I miss his baby girl lines lol. He’s the only person who can pull that off without being creepy haha!! Hope you enjoy this carbonara as much as we do. Bye for now…wheels up in 30.
I love carbonara and you’ve made it sound so easy! I’m always worried that I will scramble the eggs too 🙂
Hi Danielle! Lemme tell you, even when I scrambled the eggs it was still delicious and we still ate it lol. It was a delicious mistake I must say. Hope you try the recipe!
Looks yummy!
Pasta is my spirit animal when it comes to food. I love a great carbonara and will have to give this a try soon and see what the family thinks!
Love that, spirit animal 🙂 Hope you and the family like it!
This pasta looks amazing. I have to admit, scrolling down, those desserts look really good too!
Aw thanks Tonya! I’m in fact more of a desserts girl with a sprinkling of savoury 🙂
Oh Yum! This looks amazing!
this looks very tasty, one of my favorite pastas ever, love how it is creamy, rich and still not drowned in sauce. good parmesan really does make a big difference. thanks for sharing
I absolutely agree! Good cheese makes all the difference. We got hold of this amazing Pecorino Romano from our local cheese shop too which made this carbonara out of this world delicious.
Oh yes this looks like the ultimate in comfort food. Can’t wait to make it for my fam.
I loved that episode. Now all of my favorite Criminal Minds characters are gone. So sad.
Oh I know. It kinda feels like when Grissom left CSI, though I’m liking the new characters they’re introducing every season. In any case, we’ll always have carbonara! 🙂
This looks like a delicious carbonara recipe to try! I will certainly be making up this week for dinner one night. Sounds and looks yummy!
OMG Carbonara is one of my biggest weaknesses! This looks SOO good. I didn’t realize one should only use egg yolk, thanks for the tip!
Hi Dominique! Some recipes say use the whole egg but I think egg yolks make it that much more creamier 🙂
This looks very good! I like the use of pancetta I think it would give very good flavor. I get nervous about raw eggs as well but now maybe I feel a little better that they cook!
Hi Mindy! Pancetta is the bomb. It’s like bacon but better (can you imagine lol!). And trust me, someone who has crazy raw egg issues, you should be ok 🙂
Carbonara is great. I always love eating this. But I rarely make it myself. This recipe males me think again. Especially because it’s easy and I can use it for busy weeknights!
I don’t watch Criminal Minds, however now I want to! This sounds and looks soooo good!!!!
Looks so good, makes me dread the frozen alfredo pasta I’ll be having for dinner tonight! will have to try this out this weekend.
LOL! I’m sure you can dress it up 🙂 Do try making this carbonara from scratch, it’s quite delightful.
I’ve always thrown out my pasta water. Now, I know!
I know right?! I didn’t know they’re useful too. Now we’re going to be master pasta cooks watch out world 🙂 Thanks Carrie!
this is such a classic italian meal. I have not made it in a while, need to make it this week.
I’ve not made this before but would love to add it to my dinner list this week.
I’m a big fan of Criminal Minds but I can’t for the life of me remember this. Either way, I love carbonara and this looks delish.
Hi Christine. I had to google that episode and what do you know, it’s on YouTube (why did I doubt it lol!). Here’s the link if you want to have a look (no affiliation to the account BTW!) – https://youtu.be/CyWnNZmtzJg
I don’t watch this show, but I still want to try this recipe! It sounds amazing delicious! My family will love it.
High five to you girl for putting out a WICKED recipe! I LOVES me some carbonara. Seriously. So good. I mean, pasta, pancetta…..what’s not to love? I could eat my weight in that. I watched a few episodes of Criminal Minds, but never really got into it, but had I know there was an episode talking about food I would have continued to watch, lol. Pinning this beauty and making soon 🙂
High five! What’s not to love right? I mean, just all the cheeses 🙂 I actually got into the series late somewhat so I binge watched (as you know I am prone to do lol) the first 2 seasons or something. I was hooked! Thanks for the pin!