Spaghetti Carbonara

Spaghetti Carbonara

This is one of my eldest son's favourite recipes. I’m not sure how healthy it is, but it is a very quick and easy meal – it takes about 15 minutes in total to make.

Ingredients (for 2 people)

200 g spaghetti

100 g pancetta (lardons or slices)

200 mls fresh double cream

80 g grated Parmesan

2 eggs (very fresh)

½ - 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper

Salt

1 clove garlic (crushed)
½  teaspoon paprika (optional)

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

Method

1. Boil a large pan of water (with ¼ teaspoon of salt).

2. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook for 11 – 13 minutes (depending on how ‘al dente’ you like your pasta).

3. Cook the pancetta in a frying pan (but with no oil in the pan), over a medium heat until it is crisp  - it takes about 5 minutes, (if using slices of pancetta cut it into 1 inch pieces with scissors) then drain the pancetta on kitchen paper and keep it aside.

4. Heat the cream and Parmesan gently over a low heat in a separate large saucepan for about 5 minutes, then take the pan off the heat.

5. Add the eggs, garlic, parsley, pepper and ⅓ teaspoon of salt to the cream and stir well (off the heat).

6. Drain the spaghetti as soon as it is cooked and add it to the sauce.

7. Serve immediately with crisp pancetta sprinkled on top.

Additional Information

It's best to use very fresh eggs, as they are essentially raw in this recipe.