[Sticky] Proper Spaghetti Carbonara

Just like “Mamma” used to make!! No cream in sight. Or try swapping the spaghetti with courgetti to make a tasty low carb alternative

Ingredients:

100g pancetta or smoky bacon – cut into small pieces
50g pecorino cheese – grated
50g parmesan cheese – grated
3 large eggs
350g spaghetti OR 4 small courgettes (spiralised)
2x garlic cloves – peeled
50g butter
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method: Number of servings 4 / Prep Time 15/20 minutes, Cook Time 15 Minutes 

Cost per serving – approx. £1.15 per portion / Or approx. £1.50 if using courgette instead of spaghetti

1. Put a large saucepan of salted water onto boil, when boiling add the spaghetti and simmer for about 10 mins or until al dente (just cooked)

2. Beat the eggs in a medium bowl and season with freshly ground black pepper. Add both cheeses and mix together, saving a little cheese for sprinkling over later

3. Squash the garlic with the blade of a knife, just to bruise

4. While the spaghetti is cooking, melt the butter in a frying pan and fry the pancetta or bacon with the garlic. Leave to cook on a medium heat for about 5 mins until the pancetta is golden and crisp, then remove and discard the garlic. Turn the heat to low

5. When the pasta is cooked, lift it out of the boiling water using tongs and add to the frying pan with the pancetta. Don’t worry if a little of the pasta water goes in too. Don’t throw away the pasta water yet!

6. Take the frying pan off the heat and quickly pour in the eggs and cheese mixture. Lift up the spaghetti with the tongs so that the mixture coats everything but doesn’t scramble

7. Add some extra pasta water to the frying pan, a couple of tablespoons should be sufficient, you don’t want the mixture to be too wet, just moist. Then season with a little salt if required

8. Serve immediately with a sprinkle of cheese and black pepper if needed

If the dish does get a little dry before serving just splash a little more of the pasta water in to revive the sauce

If you want to make this recipe into a low carb dish simply swap the spaghetti for spiralised courgette and add to the frying pan with the pancetta when it’s cooked (the courgette doesn’t need to be cooked, just warmed through). Then add the egg and cheese mixture as above.

Nutritional Information Per Serving:

66g carbs (if swapping to courgette then 6g carbs)
3g fibre
31g fat
32g protein
655 kcals