Spaghetti Carbonara

This is one of those wonderful meals where you have to forgive the luxurious Ingredients because they are so simple and create a filling comfort food that you can throw together last minute for a weeknight supper or make as an impressive dinner party dish that your guests will love. Either way, you get to eat lovely creamy pasta!

Ingredients

• 8oz/225g spaghetti noodles, cooked according to manufacturers Instructions
• 1 TBSP olive oil for frying
• 2 large green onions (spring onions), both green and white parts sliced fine then divided
• 1/2 a garlic clove, pressed or minced very finely
• 2.5oz/75g of some sort of cured pork like ham, gammon, pancetta, bacon etc. – diced into small cubes or batons
• 2 eggs
• 4 oz/125ml half and half (single cream)
• 1oz/25g finely grated parmesan cheese, plus a little extra for on top
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions

!Important – Start the pasta cooking so you only just have time to drain it before you need it, don’t let it sit around!

1. In a bowl combine the eggs, half and half, parmesan and the black pepper then whisk well. Set aside at room temperature.
2. In a frying pan over medium-high heat, heat the oil and fry the meat until it just starts to brown and then add the whites of the onions and the minced garlic and fry for just 30 seconds, then remove from the heat. Spoon off all but about a TBSP of the fat in the pan then add the cooked pasta and toss till well coated.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and add the egg mixture, half the green onion tops and toss until the noodles are well coated and shiny
4. Serve immediately, sprinkled with the rest of the green onion tops and a bit of extra grated parmesan

Makes 2 Generous Servings

Notes

• You will need to time it just right so that you basically are draining the cooked pasta and adding it straight to the fat, you need the full heat of the freshly boiled pasta to cook the egg mixture.
• You will need a frying pan large enough to fit all the Ingredients including the cooked noodles and have room to comfortably toss/stir all of it.
• For the cheese, don’t use that awful canned stuff! For one it won’t work and for two it’s horrible. You will need fresh parmesan, whether you grate it yourself or not is not important.
• For the meat, to get the best flavor use something that will render some fat. I personally like to use Italian ham but any cured pork will flavor the olive oil so you can use just regular ham too.