Carbonara

I always thought Carbonara was made with cream until I found this recipe and was very surprised there was not a drop of cream in sight.  It was a lot better it wasn’t as heavy as other traditional creamy pasta recipes and so you can enjoy more…please read the top tip before cooking this dinner…

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 250g diced smoked pancetta or 6 rashers smoked back bacon
  • 4 eggs
  • 6 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese – I sometimes use half the parmesan for the sauce, then top with grated cheddar cheese if I don’t have enough
  • 2 tbsp. freshly chopped flatleaf parsley or 1 tbsp. of dried parsley
  • 500g farfalle or any dried pasta shape
  • Salt and pepper

Method:

  1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to boil and cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.
  2. In the meantime, heat the oil over a medium heat and fry the pancetta/bacon until golden and crispy.  Remove from the heat and set aside.
  3. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, half the parmesan, the parsley. Season with salt and pepper, set aside.
  4. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and tip back into the same saucepan in which you cooked it in.
  5. Add the fried pancetta to the pasta and pour over the egg mixture.  Mix together for 1min, check if it needs more salt and serve immediately with the remaining cheese and maybe some garlic bread.

Top tip: Don’t be tempted to heat the pasta after the egg mixture has been added, otherwise you will end up with scrambled eggs.  The heat from the saucepan and pasta will create a creamy texture.