Spagetti Carbonara

Everyone will have had Spagetti Carbonara some time in their life. I remember mine was at Pizza Hut with my really good school friends.  Nowadays , with so many special offers from the supermarkets you can fill your trolley full with jars of sauce -and carbonara is great treat from the tomato sauces - then go home boil the pasta and stir in the sauce, voila.. meal done!  I certainly had a lot of it when i was a student.

But it is also a very simple dish to make it from scratch too, so here is the recipe taken from my very helpful student cookbook, 'Cheap as chips, Better than Toast' by Miranda Shearer.

Ingredients:

200g Spagetti (I used Tagliatelle)
4-5 rashers bacon or pancetta
2 tspn Olive Oil
4 Tbspn White wine
1 Whole Egg
1 Egg Yolk
4 Tbspn freshly grated Parmesan cheese (use cheddar, if you prefer)
250g single cream (optional)
1 rounded Tbspn butter
black pepper

Method:

1) Cook the pasta in a pan of boiling water.
2) Meanwhile, cut off the bacon rind and cut the bacon or pancetta into chunky pieces. Fry in the olive oil for 5 minutes until crispy.
3)Throw in the wine and bubble for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
4)In a bowl, beat together the whole egg, egg yolk, cheese and cream (if you're using it) and pepper with a fork
5) When the pasta is ready, return the pan with the bacon and wine to a medium heat and add the butter.
6) Drain the pasta and return it to its hot pan. Add bacon and wine to the pasta, then pour in the egg mixture and quickly and thoroughly turn the pasta so it is entirely covered by the sauce.
Divide and ready to serve and maybe with some garlic bread.  

Tip
Don't put the pan on the heat, be patient and the eggs will set from the heat of the pasta. If the pan is too hot they will scramble!!! ( i tell you its does not look good)


Happy Cooking!