RISOTTO ALLA CARBONARA

Risotto alla Carbonara image

Number Of Ingredients 8

4 ounces guanciale, bacon, or pancetta, diced
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 shallots, diced
2/3 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup vermouth or white wine
3 1/2 cups chicken stock/broth, kept hot in a separate saucepan over low heat
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Steps:

Starting from a cold pan, heat the guanciale in the olive oil until it has crisped up significantly and rendered down much of its fat, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside for later. Pour out the fat, reserving 1 tablespoon in the pan. Sauté the shallot in the guanciale fat for a minute, then add the rice and do the same. Splash in the wine and reduce completely.
Slowly stir in the hot chicken broth, one ladleful at a time, only adding more once the last addition has been fully absorbed by the rice. This should take about 16 minutes. When you're nearing the end of your broth, taste your rice: Is it al dente? That is, soft on the outside with a tiny bite left in the center of the grain? When it's at this stage, remove from heat, cover, and let sit to finish cooking while you prepare the egg mixture.
In a small bowl or ramekin, whisk together the egg yolk, cream, black pepper, and as much cheese as you want (you can add more later) into a pale-yellow emulsion, which should then be folded into the still-warm risotto, loosening it up a bit.
Plate-never bowl-your risotto. Top with the reserved crispy guanciale, a few large shavings of Pecorino, and a very generous crack of black pepper (which is, allegedly, the "charcoal" in carbonara).