Mafaldine Carbonara

Carbonara is always a sweet treat for anyone—it doesn’t matter if you’re more of a cheese person or a pasta lover. I usually make mine with spaghetti, but today I thought, why not try it with mafaldine? I love its shape: not too soft, not too thin, with ruffled edges that hold onto the creamy carbonara sauce so well.

Check out my Video here.

Ingredients (1 serving):

• 1 handful of mafaldine pasta

• A pinch of sea salt (for boiling the pasta)

• 100g pancetta, diced

• 3 egg yolks, ( keep 1 for extra topping )

• Freshly ground black pepper ( use mortar for the best flavour)

• Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated, as many as you want

How I make :

Cook the pasta – Bring a pot of water to a boil, add a pinch of sea salt, and cook the mafaldine until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water, then drain.

1. Prepare the pancetta – In a large pan, cook the diced pancetta over medium heat until golden and crispy. Turn off the heat and set pancetta aside from the fat ( i add a drizzle of olive oil while cooking).

2. Cook the pasta - In hot boiling water, add a pinch of sea salt, cook mafaldine around 7 minutes

3. Make the sauce base – In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, a generous handful of grated Parmigiano Reggiano, and freshly ground black pepper, pancetta excessed fat until creamy.

4. Combine pasta & sauce – Add the hot pasta straightaway from cooking pot to the sauce base, adjust the sauce texture with pasta water, toss quickly,.add 1/2 pancetta. The heat of the pasta will gently cook the yolks without scrambling.

5. Serve & garnish – Plate the mafaldine carbonara, then top with an extra fresh egg yolk , grated Parmigiano Reggiano, pancetta for that rich, glossy finish.

Pancetta, diced

Cook pancetta under low hear to render the fat

Combine egg yolks, black pepper, grated cheese, pancetta fat

Make carbonara sauce base

Garnish carbonara with extra egg yolk ( optional), grated cheese and extra pepper,