Spaghetti Carbonara

This recipe is a firm favourite in my household.  It is really comfort food at its best – not low calorie by any means(!), but it is filling and warming and absolutely delicious.  I sometimes add cooked peas or broccoli so that there is some vegetable content but this isn’t traditional or strictly necessary.

1. Bring a pan of water to the boil, add a generous teaspoon of salt to the water.  Snap the spaghetti in half so that it fits into the pan.  Boil it for approximately 10 minutes.  Check the pasta is “al dente” by taking a strand and biting it.  It should be cooked through so that there is no chalky core but still have a little “bite” i.e. resistance, to it.
2. While the pasta is cooking, gently fry the cubed pancetta in a medium sized saucepan until it has crispy edges.  Pour off any excess fat then add the crushed or chopped garlic and take the pan off the heat.  Let the garlic cook with the residual heat in the pan.
3. Whisk the remaining ingredients (egg, cream, parmesan, nutmeg and pepper) in a bowl.  Don’t add any salt at this stage as the pancetta and cheese are salty.
4. When the pasta is cooked, drain it and put it into the pan containing the pancetta and garlic.  Give it a good stir and then slowly add the egg mixture whilst stirring it all together. Hopefully you have timed it so that the pasta and pancetta are both still warm and there is enough heat to very gently cook the egg.  What you don’t want is scrambled egg!  You can put the pan back onto a very gentle heat and continue to stir the egg into the pasta/pancetta mix if the pasta isn’t quite warm enough.  You should end up with a lovely creamy pasta.