Wind-Down Wednesday: Spaghetti Carbonara

I never really enjoyed spaghetti carbonara in Italian restaurants; it always seemed too heavy and stodgy, with the cream drowning out the flavours.  It wasn’t too surprising to find out that the cream is a completely unneccessary and inauthentic addition to the classic Italian carbonara: it’s immeasurably better without it.

This recipe is easy, and best of all, really quick.  It takes about ten minutes to prepare and another ten to cook. It’s great for when you have one egg left in a box and don’t know what else to do with it.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Serves one.  Just double quantities for two, and so on.

Ingredients

• Spaghetti
• 2 smoky rashers or 3 strips of pancetta
• 1 clove garlic
• Half an onion
• Grated parmesan cheese, about 2 tablespoons
• 1 egg yolk, beaten
• Black pepper

Instructions

1. Cut up the bacon into small pieces with a scissors,  chop the onion into fine strips and chop the garlic clove.
2. Put the spaghetti in a pan with boiling water, a pinch of salt and a splash of olive oil, and cook according to the packet directions (usually less than 10  mins for dried pasta, about 5 mins for fresh).
3. While the spaghetti is boiling, add the onion, garlic and bacon to a frying pan and fry with some olive oil till the bacon is starting to crisp.
4. When the spaghetti is boiled, drain it and return it to the pan. Stir in the egg yolk, then the bacon, onion and garlic, followed by the cheese.  Mix it all together – the heat of the pan and the other ingredients will cook the egg.
5. Grate over lots of black pepper and serve.  Great with red wine, crusty bread and a side salad.