Super Quick Pasta alla Carbonara

Serves: 1

Ingredients

100g dried pasta (ideally bucatini, spaghetti or penne but anything will do)
12g butter or 20ml olive oil
25g pancetta
1 egg yolk
1 tsp milk (or water)
10g Pecorino (or Parmesan) cheese, grated
Freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Prepare all the ingredients as you're going to need to be quick!

2. Put the pasta into salted boiling water and cook until al dente.

3. While the pasta is boiling away, heat the butter or oil on a low-medium heat and fry the pancetta until lightly browned (around 5 mins) then set aside off the heat.

4. Lightly beat the egg yolk and milk in a bowl and add the grated cheese. 30 seconds or so before the pasta is cooked, pour the egg mixture into the pancetta and mix.

5. Drain your pasta and toss in the pan to coat it with the uncooked egg. Add plenty of black pepper and you're done!

Notes:

When draining your pasta be quick. Leaving the pasta a bit 'wet' with the salted water will impart flavour to your dish and give a beautiful silky texture to the sauce.

(adapted from Antonio Carluccio's Passion for Pasta book)