With truffle season upon us, I have been busy eating and cooking all things truffle. It's one of my favourite ingredients and I feel like it adds that extra something that just takes a dish to the next level. I was lucky enough to pick one up at the Good Food and Wine Show in Sydney from the gorgeous guys at Great Southern Truffles, and let me tell you, this pasta was absolutely delicious!
This is such a simple yet tasty recipe and you can chop and change to suit whatever ingredients you have on hand. Bacon can be used in place of pancetta and spaghetti or fettucini can be used in place of bucatini.
“The mistake you can make with carbonara is during the final mixing step where you can accidentally scramble the eggs. To avoid this, I recommend turning off the heat a couple minutes early and really let that pan cool down. The heat from the hot pasta and pasta water will be enough to thicken those eggs into a beautiful silky sauce.”
Bucatini Carbonara an original recipe by Kimberley Kells
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves: 3 adults or 2 adults 2 kids
100g Pancetta, chopped
1 Clove Garlic, chopped
250g Bucatini or Spaghetti
3 Egg Yolks
1 Whole Egg
1 Cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 Whole Fresh Truffle (optional)
Step 1- In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and whole egg with the parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Step 2- Place the pancetta in a cold pan and place on medium heat. This method of starting in a cold pan will allow the natural fats to render from the pancetta, eliminating the need to add extra oil. Fry till crisp, stir through garlic and take the pan off the heat.
Step 3- Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to boil, and cook the bucatini to al dente.
Step 4- Tip the drained pasta into the pan with the pancetta, add the egg mixture and 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, stir and watch at the egg mixture turns into a silky sauce.
Step 5- Finish with a generous grating of fresh truffle and more parmesan.