WAITAKI BACON AND EGG CARBONARA
Carbonara is a classic dish which consists of few good quality ingredients. This is such a quick meal to prepare and hugely satisfying to devour.
Serves 4
100g bacon ends, or streaky bacon cut into 1 cm pieces
50g parmesan or pecorino cheese, grated
3 free range eggs
350g Pasta d’oro pappardelle, linguine or spaghetti
2 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
50g unsalted butter
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Method
Put a large saucepan of heavily salted water on to boil.
Firstly get together all your ingredients such as the cut bacon ends, grated parmesan, lightly beat together your eggs in a bowl and set aside.
In a heavy based fry pan add the butter and dash of olive oil, add the bacon. Cook over a moderate heat so the fat renders out a little and it starts to colour. Squash the garlic and add it to the bacon. Continue cooking until the bacon has gone golden and crisp. Remove the garlic as it has done its job of imparting flavour.
Cook your pasta as directed on the packet. I am using fresh pasta which is very quick to cook (2-4 minutes). Ensure the water is constantly boiling. When your pasta is cooked you can either drag it across from the pot to the fry pan with a long pair of tongs or you can drain in through a colander, but make sure you collect a little of the cooking liquor as this is vital to your dish.
Mix most of the cheese with the eggs (reserving a little cheese for serving), remove the fry pan from the heat and now quickly pour in the egg mixture. Using tongs lift up the pasta through the mixture so it evenly coats all the threads of pasta and thickens as you do so. Add a few tablespoons of the cooking water to loosen the mixture. You want it moist but not wet. Adjust the seasoning and serve with freshly grated cheese
Serves 4
100g bacon ends, or streaky bacon cut into 1 cm pieces
50g parmesan or pecorino cheese, grated
3 free range eggs
350g Pasta d’oro pappardelle, linguine or spaghetti
2 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
50g unsalted butter
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Method
Put a large saucepan of heavily salted water on to boil.
Firstly get together all your ingredients such as the cut bacon ends, grated parmesan, lightly beat together your eggs in a bowl and set aside.
In a heavy based fry pan add the butter and dash of olive oil, add the bacon. Cook over a moderate heat so the fat renders out a little and it starts to colour. Squash the garlic and add it to the bacon. Continue cooking until the bacon has gone golden and crisp. Remove the garlic as it has done its job of imparting flavour.
Cook your pasta as directed on the packet. I am using fresh pasta which is very quick to cook (2-4 minutes). Ensure the water is constantly boiling. When your pasta is cooked you can either drag it across from the pot to the fry pan with a long pair of tongs or you can drain in through a colander, but make sure you collect a little of the cooking liquor as this is vital to your dish.
Mix most of the cheese with the eggs (reserving a little cheese for serving), remove the fry pan from the heat and now quickly pour in the egg mixture. Using tongs lift up the pasta through the mixture so it evenly coats all the threads of pasta and thickens as you do so. Add a few tablespoons of the cooking water to loosen the mixture. You want it moist but not wet. Adjust the seasoning and serve with freshly grated cheese
Alison Lambert
