Spaghetti Carbonara

serves 2

200g Barilla n.5 or De Checco; or any 'made in Italy'

5 rashers of panceta or bacon

1 small onion

1 garlic cloves

200ml cream

Maldon sea salt

 Freshley ground black pepper

2 free-range egg yolks

25g Parmesano

25g Pecorino

I love spaghetti carbonara. I have been making it for some time now and have had it made for me by 'Gente del Norte'; And I have settled with this recipe.

There are numerous anecdotal stories about the origin of Carbonara; but, the one I'm sticking with is that it is because of the copious amounts of black pepper covering the final article.

N.B. I sometimes substitute 1 rasher of bacon for a slice of Jamon de Serrano. Also; mix in some of the cheese before serving.

1. Finely chop the onion and garlic. Heat a little olive oil in a heavy-bottomed  pan. Season and gently fry the onion and garlic for about 15 minutes until transluscent.

2. Meanwhile, put a large pan of generously salted water on to boil ; lid on.

3. Cut the panceta into matchsticks and fry off over a moderate heat for 5 minutes.

4. Combine with the onion and garlic; add the cream, bring to the boil, season and roll boil for a couple of minutes.

5. put the pasta on; moving only to get it submerged, then leave it alone; Lid off.

6. Remove the cream mixture from the heat and let it cool slightly as you wait for the spaghetti.

N.B. the only way to check if pasta is 'al dente', is to try it.

7. As you are waiting for the spaghetti, add the 2 egg yolks to the cream and rapidly stir in.

8. When the spaghetti is ready, drain and then add to the pan containing the sauce.

9. Combine well and serve. Finish with freshly ground black pepper and the grated cheeses.