Recipe: Pasta Carbonara

With leftover pasta and chives

I've been watching a lot of late night tv on The Boy's huge projector screen, which includes Gordon Ramsay, Kylie Kwong (beautiful fingers) and Tamasin Day-Lewis (I love her aga!) - magnified. I love watching other people cook. But I always wonder if I could be bothered to do all that at home, when I get back to work. I guess that's why people like Rachel Ray are popular - 30 minutes and you have a meal - but that's only if you want to live exactly like her, have exactly the same larder as she does (clearly we would all like to look like her too if that were possible).

I guess I wonder if cooking could be a lot more... spontaneous? One of the most spontaneous dishes you can make at home, because it is so basic, is pasta carbonara. As you might already guess, I love eggs, particularly half-cooked ones. So a good carbonara is definitely a favourite.

RECIPE: PASTA CARBONARA
(serves 1)

Pasta

Olive oil
Pancetta/bacon
White wine
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
2 tbsp shaved parmesan
dollop of double cream/creme fraiche (optional)
pinch of nutmeg (optional)
pepper

1. Cook pasta.
2. While that is bubbling in its pot, heat some olive oil in a pan. Brown pancetta. Add wine and simmer.
3. Beat the rest of the ingredients in a separate bowl - no salt since the cheese and bacon are salty already. That's your carbonara sauce.
4. When wine has been reduced for a coupla minutes, add cooked pasta and mix. Turn off flame - you don't want omelette! Add carbonara sauce and toss. The aim is to coat every inch of pasta with the gooey, eggy, yellowy mixture, letting it be cooked by the heat radiating from the pasta itself.
5. Serve with shaved parmesan. I like to fry the remainder egg white and serve on top too, but that's just a personal habit.