Spaghetti Carbonara

This is a classic dish and a personal favourite. Smoky bacon, smooth creamy sauce and bitey pasta: I can eat this stuff by the bucket. Over the years I've come to prefer tagliatelli with carbonara, although I've had a really nice version in a restaurant that was made with spirelli and the addition of sundried tomatoes. So do try that if you like!

Serve it up with bruschetta. Go on, do! And by all means, substitute the streaky bacon with lean ham, pancetta cubes or, if you prefer not to eat pork, with beef bacon or turkey ham.

Ingredients

• 500g tagliatelli
• 300g streaky bacon, chopped
• 5 eggs
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh grated parmesan cheese
• 200g creme fraiche
• 1 tbsp parsley, chopped finely.

Boil a kettle of water, and then pour the water in a roomy pan along with ½ tbsp of olive oil. Bring to a gentle boil, and then add the pasta. Boil for 8-10 minutes until cooked.

While the spaghetti is cooking, fry the bacon, ham or beef sausage in the remaining olive oil. Whisk three of the whole eggs with the yolks of the other two in a bowl, adding plenty of freshly grated black pepper and the parmesan cheese. Mix in the creme fraiche and the cooked bacon or beef sausage.

Drain the cooked pasta and return it to the pan with the heat off, adding the mixture to it, stirring it to heat through (using the residual heat from the pan only) and serve in hot bowls sprinkled with chopped parsley.