Spaghetti Carbonara

Here is another quick and relatively easy pasta recipe to try. I made this last night using homemade pasta and it was really delicious. If you have time, do try making your own pasta (following this RECIPE) because it makes such a difference flavour-wise.  

This is the proper Italian way of making carbonara, without any cream or milk. If you decide to make this you must be careful not to scramble the eggs. The heat of the cooked pasta and hot pan is enough to cook the eggs so don't try and cook the sauce on the hob - you'll just end up with cheesy scrambled eggs! Just drain the pasta then quickly add the egg and cheese mix to the pan and everything will turn out beautifully! 

Spaghetti Carbonara

Ingredients

• 300g spaghetti
• 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed - I love garlic so I use 3 cloves, but 2 is enough
• 4 rashers bacon
• 3 eggs
• 75g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
• pepper

Method

1. Put a large saucepan of salted water on to boil.
2. In a large frying pan (large enough to hold all of your pasta), fry the bacon and garlic until the bacon is crispy. Garlic becomes bitter if you burn it so, to avoid this, cook on a medium heat. If your bacon is crispy before the pasta is ready just take it off the heat and put it to one side. Return it to the heat 2 minutes before the pasta is cooked to heat it up.
3. When the water is boiling, cook the spaghetti according to packet instructions.
4. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs together in a bowl with the grated Parmesan and a little pepper.
5. When the pasta is cooked, drain it, reserving a small amount of pasta water (about 2 tbsp).
6. Take the bacon and garlic pan off the heat.
7. Add the pasta and the reserved water to the bacon and garlic pan and mix.
8. Pour in the egg mix.
9. Stir until the sauce looks glossy and coats the spaghetti. Using tongs or a pasta spoon makes this easier.
10. Serve immediately. 

One final pasta related comment... I have just discovered that the hole in the centre of a pasta spoon can be used to measure one person portions of spaghetti! Maybe everyone else out there already knew this but I had no idea! 

Good luck and have fun! x