Roger's Recipes
Crawfords Butchers (020 8422 4922)
39 Oldfields Circus, Northolt UB5 4RR (map)
Opening hours
Monday-Friday: 8am – 7pm
Saturday: 8am – 6pm
Sunday: 10am – 4pm
Tagliatelle Carbonara
A classic Italian dish. I see so many recipes for this that call for cream and it is completely unnecessary. This is my recipe and is how an Italian would make it. Feel free to add some thinly sliced mushrooms at the bacon stage.
If you are a vegetarian just swap the bacon for mushrooms.
To feed 4, you will need,
500g tagliatelle
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
125g pancetta or bacon, diced very small
100g pecorino or parmesan cheese, freshly grated
2 eggs
Salt and pepper
It's this easy
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta for as long as the packet says. You want it, al dente (almost done)
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and brown the pancetta
Add some pepper and cook for another 2 mins
Put the pancetta and olive oil in a large bowl and let cool slightly
Whisk the eggs in a jug. When the pancetta has cooled, stir in egg mixture with half of the cheese and set aside
When the pasta is ready, add it immediately to the bowl with the egg-pancetta mixture using a slotted pasta spoon and mix well
Gradually mix in some of the pasta water so that the sauce is nice and creamy. If necessary, stir in more Parmesan
Season with salt and pepper and serve with the remaining Parmesan
Serve with salad and garlic bread