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Traditionally, Carbonara sauce includes raw egg, but that of course
carries with it a risk of salmonela infection. My recipe instead uses
white sauce as a substitute.
Ingredients
4 rashers of pancetta or smoked bacon
1 medium onion, chopped
2 to 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons of dried chopped basil
1 1/2 teaspoons of dried chopped oregano
150g dried spaghetti
200 mL milk
30g butter
50g cheddar, grated
a little flour
pepper to taste
1 tablespoon mayonnaise (optional)
Method
Grill the bacon until it starts to crisp. Then leave to cool. Once cool, chop
into 1 cm wide strips.
Heat roughly 30g butter in a small saucepan. Add nearly all the milk (retaining
about 50 mL) and bring almost to the boil. Mix the remaining cold milk with a little
flour to form a smooth paste. Stir this paste into the hot milk. Stir in the cheese
and mayonnaise. The sauce should now be fairly thick – if not, add more flour,
sieving it and stirring continuously to avoid lumps in the sauce.
Fry the onions and garlic in the remaining butter until they start to become
transparent. Put the fried onions, chopped bacon, basil, oregano and pepper into
the white sauce and stir well.
Now prepare the spaghetti according to the instructions found on its packaging.
Make sure you keep stirring the sauce occasionally.
Put the spaghetti into serving bowls and pour sauce over. Garnish with
parmesan cheese and a sprig of fresh basil or oregano. If hungry, serve with
garlic bread.
