recipes

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

A famous Roman dish from Episode 7 of Catherine's Roman Holiday.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 120g pancetta, diced, about 1 / 1 ½ cm
• 300g spaghetti
• 4 egg yolks
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 90g freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• 1 tbsp olive oil, extra virgin
• Salt to taste
• Basil for garnishing

Method

1. Cook the spaghetti according to the instructions in plenty of salted boiling water. (Remember to keep the pasta cooking liquid)
2. In the meanwhile, fry off the pancetta in a large deep frying pan, until golden.
3. Lightly whisk the egg yolks and pepper. Add a large ladleful of the pasta cooking liquid (about 240ml) to the egg yolks and mix quickly.
4. Tip the cooked spaghetti into pan with the pancetta and toss in the eggs and pecorino cheese.
5. Add some of the pasta cooking water to thin as required
6. Stir, check the seasoning, garnish with basil and serve immediately.