Pasta Carbonara - The Taylor Swift of Meals

Do you want something simple, attractive, easily digestible, loved by children and adults, and capable of being made hot again at short notice a seemingly infinite number of times? Look no further than my pasta carbonara... the Taylor Swift of Food By Kevin meals.

I have cooked this meal well over one hundred times. That is no exaggeration. There really is not a circumstance when it is inappropriate. If you are cooking for a very large group (maybe a dozen people or more ) it is the only thing I would make. Over the years I have refined the technique. By 'refining' I have really taken redundancy out of the process to make it more simple, with less washing up required. There are also a few things I do to retain all the flavor. Now I know that Italians are strangely prescriptive with their cooking, which is somewhat juxtaposed with their otherwise relaxed and laissez-faire natures. So I apologize if orthodox chefs read this and say 'that's not pasta carbonara'. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but people don't eat cook books, they eat food, and this is a very easy way to make a lot of people happy. Call it Pasta Kevonara if you want to be a purist.

A great wine to pair with this meal is Chianti Classico, which has more pronounced acidity to cut the protein from the meat and cheese. You can buy these inexpensively. [Somm tip - If you buy Chianti, always buy Chianti Classico. All Chianti is now DOCG denomination but 'Classico' means it comes from the best part of Chianti which used to be the only DOCG area. Prices for all Chiantis are very similar but Chianti Classico is a much smoother experience.]

INGREDIENTS (assuming 4 people but scale up or down as appropriate)

• Two egg yolks

• One cup sour cream

• One cup Parmesan cheese, grated

• 8 rashers of bacon or half a standard 12oz packet. You can use cubed salami or the packets of cubed pancetta also. Sometimes I've used a blend of all three.

• Enough pasta for four people (around 12oz). Use any shape you like, but carbonara is traditionally with spaghetti.

• Two lugs of virgin olive oil.

• Optional : red chili flakes.

• 4 salad leaves

METHOD

1. Place egg yolks, sour cream, and cheese in a large mixing bowl and stir until combined. Add some generous twists of black pepper (but not salt, since that is in the bacon and cheese already).

2. Boil water and cook pasta. Cook it 'a la dente' which is typically 1-2 minutes less than American/UK cooking instructions.

3. While pasta is cooking, in a frying pan cook the bacon/salami/pancetta. You will not need any oil as it will throw off its own 'oil' when cooking. When it is done, dump the whole pan (meat and liquid) in the mixing bowl and stir that in.

4. When the pasta is cooked, turn off the heat, and drain it. Put two lugs of olive oil into the hot empty large sauce pan you cooked the pasta in. Add the pasta and stir it so the pasta is all coated in the oil.

5. Then put the contents of the mixing bowl into the sauce pan with the pasta in it. Stir it all up to combine the pasta and the 'carbonara mix'. Let it sit in the pan for a few minutes. The residual heat of the pan and pasta will heat the egg yolks and cheese and create a wonderous sauce. Not only the meat is in the sauce, but the liquid from the meat cooking also, which gives it a very deep flavor.

6. If desired, add a few red chili flakes if you want to add a little spice. This is absolutely not the Italian way but it does taste pretty good.

7. Place in bowls and add single salad leaf to every bowl on top. Just having something green on there makes it look elegant and less like a car crash. It sounds stupid but it makes a difference if you are cooking for a dinner party or a date. But if it for the kids, forget the leaf!

Enjoy!