And Here's One I Prepared Earlier...

I made this last week before all the drama that has kept me in (or at least on) my bed but hadn't got to posting it yet. Well that and I didn't want to shock you all with two recipes in one week. I thought I'd better ease back into the cooking posts so as not make you all die of shock or set myself up for something I couldn't keep up with...

This is my first ever attempt at making a proper carbonara - normally I make more of an alfredo sauce with butter, garlic and cream. Lots of cream. Yum. But in the interests of being a bit healthier, and using up some of the egg supply, I decided to have a go at this. I love carbonara when I'm eating out but the idea of 'raw' eggs in a sauce that I'm making was always enough to stop me trying it myself. Well fear no more! The eggs do cook very nicely with the heat of the rest of the dish and there was nothing oozy or raw about it. (Though I suspect/know I overcooked it a little but heck it made me feel happier, I'll be that bit braver next time!) The kids wolfed this down AND went back for seconds. Yes, even the fussy one. Hubby wasn't as big a fan - he loves the creamy sauce and was a little disappointed to discover that dinner wasn't what he thought it was going to be but did admit that it was good. And I thought it was great as it ticked all the boxes for me - quick, easy and clean plates at the end of the meal. We'll be adding this to the Fast Food Filthy Friday rotation for sure.

Penne Carbonara

adapted slightly from The Thrifty Kitchen by Suzanne Gibbs and Kate Gibbs

Serves 4

400g penne

1/3 cup olive oil

150g bacon, finely chopped

5 eggs, beaten (the original recipe uses 3 but I found that wasn't enough, and I had a couple of quite small eggs, so I added two more and it was perfect)

3/4 cup grated fresh parmesan

freshly ground pepper

1. Cook the penne in a large pan of boiling water until al dente.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the bacon for 5 or so minutes over medium until browned and crisp.

3. Drain the pasta and add it to the fry pan with the bacon, tossing it through to thoroughly coat it. Remove from the heat and add the beaten egg, stirring constantly so that it quickly cooks into a smooth creamy sauce. Stir through half the cheese and  the ground pepper.

4. Pile into serving bowls and top with the remaining cheese and extra pepper if desired.