SIMPLICITY IN A BOWL
A handful of simple ingredients is all it takes to crack this classic. And if eggs scrambling or sauce splitting is your carbonara kryptonite, add this recipe to your repertoire, stat. This is a fail-safe way that gives a beautiful saucy egg yolk sauce and a full-flavoured dish every time – without the splitting or scrambling, or the cheese getting all lumpy.
The recipe
Spaghetti Carbonara
- Serves
- 2
- Prep time
- 15 minutes
- Cooking time
- 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 100g bacon
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp confit garlic
- 220g fresh egg spaghetti
- 4 organic egg yolks
- 60g parmesan, finely grated
- Flaked sea salt and milled black pepper, to serve
Method
- Bring a pot of salted water to the boil.
- Meanwhile, trim the tough outer layer from the bacon, then dice into small pieces.
- Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan over a low heat. Don’t let it get too hot or smoky, as this will burn the oil. Add the bacon to the pan and cook until lightly coloured. Add the confit garlic and cook until the bacon fat and garlic have emulsified into a nice paste. Add a splash of pasta water to the pan to help thicken the sauce, then turn down the heat, or move to the side.
- Drop the spaghetti in the pot of salted water. Cook fresh pasta for about 2 minutes. If you’re using dried pasta, follow the directions on the packet.
- Meanwhile, with a small whisk or fork combine 2 egg yolks, 30 grams of parmesan and a splash of pasta water until smooth. This will help the egg yolk and cheese to emulsify and not split.
- When the pasta is cooked, strain (reserving the water) and toss in the pan with bacon until covered. Then add straight into the bowl with the yolk and parmesan, and toss for about 20 seconds. If the mixture is a little thick and gluggy, add another tablespoon of hot pasta water and continue to toss.
- Add flaked salt to taste. Be careful, as the bacon can be salty.
- Serve in a bowl and place the third egg yolk on top of the pasta with the remaining parmesan and milled black pepper.
SpaghettiCheeseMeat