Star Italian chef Sarah Cicolini has a trick for making carbonara better; here’s how, and where to eat it in Sydney
The Italian chef will be in Sydney for three nights only and is sharing four easy tips and a recipe for transforming pasta, from getting the eggs straight to the secret cheese blend.
Few dishes spark as much controversy as carbonara; Even the suggestion of adding cream or replacing the guanciale with pancetta (or—gasp!—bacon) could spark national outrage.
But a young chef in Rome has won critical acclaim for his subtle and thoughtful innovations on the classic pasta dish.
Sarah Cicolini owes her fame to her fresh and modern interpretations of classic Roman dishes.
The rising chef recently cooked a Roman-style tripe frittata. Stanley Tucci: Looking for ItalySantoPalato, his trattoria in southeast Rome, was praised New York Times And Conde Nast Travelerand now Italy 50 Best Discoveries list.
One of its most famous dishes is carbonara. “This is my most requested dish,” he says. “The materials I use are the same [as the traditional recipe] But the way I cook them is different.”
The classic recipe uses only egg yolks, but Cicolini prefers to use whole eggs, including the whites. He gently whisks them over simmering water to create a soft, airy zabaion that makes the sauce richer, creamier and more stable.
He also made changes to the cheese ingredient. Instead of using only pecorino romano, he creates his own blend of 90 percent pecorino and 10 percent parmigiano reggiano. “It gives the dish a slight umami flavor,” he says.
“At the end of the day, [my recipe] It is very similar to the traditional one. If you’ve tried many carbonaras in your life, you’ll find something different in each one.
Cicolini is already well known to Australian diners. In 2019, he teamed up with legendary wine importer Giorgio De Maria of Paski Vineria Popolare for a series of Roman-style dinners at Marta Osteria in Sydney, Osteria Ilaria in Melbourne and The Agrarian Kitchen in Tasmania. In 2024, he cooked 1200 servings of carbonara at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.
He plans to do it again at a special pop-up at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar as part of the Summer Series, a season-long celebration of food, drink and music at Bondi Beach. Cicolini will lead the series with a three-day residency from February 3-5, 2026.
Working with local producers and Icebergs culinary director Alex Prichard, Cicolini will create a special menu for the event. No doubt he’ll also change up his carbonara and give it an Australian flair.
“I always try to study the menu of the restaurant I go to and try to adapt my menu to local ingredients and culture,” he says.
“Australian producers are opening up a whole new palette of ingredients, and the chance to blend the extraordinary freshness of Australian produce with the traditions I carry from home inspires me.”
Tickets for Sarah Cicolini in Residence at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar are priced at $200 per person, including a three-course menu and welcome drink, and can be purchased at: idrb.com.
Four tips for the perfect carbonara
- Cook your pasta (rigatoni in this case) in plenty of boiling water. Cicolini recommends 1 liter for every 100 grams of pasta. This allows the pasta to constantly move in the water and therefore cook more evenly with fewer lumps.
- Use guanciale instead of bacon. Guanciale is salt-cured and slow-aged meat from pork cheek. Bacon, on the contrary, comes from the belly or back. It is more fatty and therefore gives more depth of flavor.
- Cicolini makes zabaione with egg yolks and whites. Zabaione or zabaglione is a dessert normally made with egg yolks, sugar, and a sweet wine (usually marsala) that is beaten in a boiling water bath in a copper pot to pasteurize the eggs. (This means the eggs are heated without actually cooking, killing bacteria.) Here, Cicolini uses a similar technique to create a frothy, egg-based sauce. If you don’t have a copper bowl, heat-resistant glass is the next best choice. Stainless steel bowls heat up very quickly and you’ll end up with scrambled eggs.
- Cicolini likes to use a mixture of 90 percent pecorino and 10 percent parmigiano reggiano to add a subtle umami note to the dish.
Sarah Cicolini’s carbonara
CONTENTS
- 300g guanciale, cut into small cubes (pepper coated skin removed)
- 5 egg yolks
- 60 g egg whites (about 1½ eggs)
- 180g grated pecorino romano, blended with 20g grated parmigiano reggiano, plus extra to finish
- 500 g rigatoni pasta
- black pepper
METHOD
- Fill a large pot with water, add some salt and bring to a boil. Proportionally, there should be 1 liter of water for every 100 grams of pasta.
- While the water is boiling, place a cast-iron skillet over medium heat and cook the guanciale for at least 10-15 minutes, carefully turning each cube to crisp it up. Save the oil and place the guanciale cubes on paper towels to drain a bit.
- Now it’s time to make delicious zabaione. Place the egg yolks and whites in a copper or glass bowl, add some guanciale oil and pecorino and beat with a whisk until smooth. While still whisking, carefully place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, such as a double boiler or double boiler, to pasteurize the eggs without cooking them. Beat for a few minutes.
- Cook the rigatoni and remove 2 minutes before the recommended cooking time. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta’s boiling water.
- Place the remaining guanciale oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat, add the drained rigatoni and a little cooking water (½ cup initially) and stir for 3 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and return the egg, pecorino and parmesan mixture to the pan, then stir again with the rigatoni to make it as creamy as possible, adding a little more cooking water if necessary. Divide the pasta among 4-5 bowls, add a little of the crispy guanciale to each and top with grated cheese and freshly ground black pepper before serving.
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Erina Starkey- Erina is the Good Food App Editor for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Previously, Erina held various editing roles at Delicious.com.au and writing roles at Broadsheet and Concrete Playground.
