Carbonara

The classic carbonara - no cream in sight! 

Ingredients

• 225g of Pancetta as a 1cm slice or thick cut Bacon
• 4 cloves of Garlic
• 3 tbsp of olive oil
• 4 tbsp of dry White Wine
• 2 large Eggs
• 4 tbsp of freshy grated Romano Cheese
• 50g of freshly grated Parmigiano-reggiano Cheese
• freshy ground Black Pepper
• 2 tbsp of chopped flat lead Parsley
• 550g of pasta

Serves 6

Method

Cut the bacon or pancetta into strips just over half a centimeter wide. 

Bash the garlic lightly to loosen the skin which you discard. Sauté in the olive oil gently until it is a golden brown. Do not allow it to burn or it will taste bitter. 

Remove the garlic and discard.

Now cook the bacon/pancetta in the garlic infused oil until it just begins to crisp. Add the wine and cook for two minutes before turning off the heat.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl and then stir in the cheeses, the pepper and the parsley.

Once the mixture is thoroughly incorporated add the hot, cooked, pasta and toss rapidly. Make sure the mixture coats the pasta evenly. The latant heat of the pasta will cook the egg.

Warm the pancetta/bacon quickly on a high heat and then mix with the pasta.

Toss throughly and serve with more grated Parmesan. 

Spaghetti Carbonara

The Missus' Pesto Pasta

The missus' repertoire consists of just four lonely little dishes all of which are very tasty. I am willing to squeeze them in to a corner of my blog so here is the first. I will add others if she ventures back into the kitchen again this year...

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 6 rashers Bacon with all the fat cut off
• 1 small Onion, roughly chopped
• 5 large Closed cup mushrooms (or 10 button mushrooms),  peeled and roughly chopped
• 200 - 250ml Créme Fraîche
• 2 tbsp Semi-skimmed milk
• 3 whacking great teaspoons of Green pesto
• Freshly cooked pasta (enough to make you happy) - fresh is best so see my recipe on the right
• 1 tbsp grated or flaked Parmesan Cheese + more for the table

Method

Fry or grill the bacon in a heavy frying pan or wok. Cut into small strips and set aside.

Sautée the onions and mushrooms until slightly browned and then add the bacon. Mix together for one minute then remove from heat. Quickly mix in the pesto and créme fraîche and return to the heat. Stir in the hot pasta, adding a little milk to thin out the sauce and finish by stirring in the Parmesan cheese.

The Missus' Pesto Pasta

Serve with garlic bread and wine...