Spaghetti Carbonara

This is one of those things which is always pretty revolting, tasteless and gloopy if you buy a ready made version from the supermarket, but is bloody fantastic if you make it yourself. Yummy.

I made this version, for two people. Begin by heating a blob of olive oil in a small pan. If you have the inclination, fry some chopped garlic in the oil first, and remove and chuck it away when it is brown. It makes the oil all garlicky. Then add some chopped bacon or pancetta, and fry it until done. A further optional step here is then to add a generous splash of white wine, and let it boil and bubble away. It leaves another nice flavour behind.

Meanwhile, cook your spaghetti as usual. While it is cooking, get a bowl and mix in it three egg yolks, about half a cup of cream, salt and pepper, and about a handful of grated parmesan cheese. When the spag is done, drain it quick and return to the hot pan, off the heat. Chuck in the bacon and the oil it was sizzling in. Waste no time in adding the egg yolk, cream and cheese mixture. Stir and mix it well, and the heat in the pan should be enough for the sauce to cook and smoothly coat each strand of spaghetti, without overcooking and turning into scrambled egg. Eat it with more cheese and perhaps some black pepper on top. Heaven.