In the seemingly never-ending cold evenings that we are having I am finding that I really crave comfort food. So when watching a food show last night I was inspired to cook a spaghetti carbonara - gluten-free of course! Many think that a carbonara sauce is a cream based sauce. Traditionally, it is a raw egg and cheese based sauce and is delicious, rich, creamy sauce that I really enjoy. You have the choice of using either smoked bacon or speck, or you can use pancetta which creates a different flavour. This recipe is very quick to prepare and is a lovely first course in an Italian feast. For this dish I have combined it with vegetables for some added goodness as I am not preparing a main or salad course.
This time of the year I really love the vegetables that the cool weather brings especially kale also known as tuscan cabbage. This deep green vegetable is similar to cabbage but with long dark green leaves that are very reptile like. The taste is very subtle and is rather hardy when cooked. What I mean by this is that it keeps its shape and texture much better than chard or regular spinach.
So for tonight's diner I had a craving for both and thought why not combine the two?
250g gluten free spaghetti - I have used San Remo's Spaghetti
a good glug of olive oil - about 2 tablespoons
a small piece of unsalted butter - about 20g
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed with a knife, no need to cut it up
4 x short-cut rashers of bacon about - 110g if you use pancetta or speck
2 large eggs
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese - loosely packed
1/4 cup freshly grated pecorino cheese - loosely packed
a pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 leaves of kale - about half a bunch
Put the spaghetti onto to cook - this should only take about 8 minutes depending on the instructions on your pasta packet.
Whilst the pasta is cooking start the sauce straight away without delay. Heat the oil in a fry pan and melt the butter. Add the knife flattened garlic to the oil and butter and fry until it is golden. Once it has reached a rich golden colour, pick the garlic out of the pan leaving the garlic flavoured oil and butter behind.
As the garlic is gently cooking, dice the bacon, include the fat on the meat this will add to the flavour of the sauce. Cook the bacon in the flavoured oil/butter combination, until it is golden and crispy.
As the bacon is cooking you need to get cracking (no pun intended!) on the rest of the sauce.
Break the eggs into a bowl adding the salt, nutmeg and the pepper. Grate the cheeses onto the top of the eggs and the spices. Mix everything up together and set aside.
Wash off the leaves of kale and rip the tough centre vein out of the leaves. Slice the up kale into about 2cm wide strips. By now the bacon should be cooked.
Push the it to one side of the fry pan, add the kale to the other and fry gently in the oil stirring the coat the leaves. Pick the kale of the of the fry pan and set aside - you will use it in a moment to adorn your pasta.
Keep the fry pan on the heat and add the vermouth. The added liquid will spit and splutter but let it cook down a little and mix with the bacon in the pan. Turn the heat off on the fry pan and drain the pasta keeping some of the cooking water in the saucepan.
Now working very quickly, tip the pasta into the fry pan with the bacon and combine the two. Pour the egg and cheese mixture in with the pasta and mix through fast, adding some of the cooking water to the help lubricate the sauce. Ensure that every strand of pasta is coated in the carbonara sauce.
Dish the pasta into a bowl finishing off the pasta with its topping of the cooked kale and a sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan cheese.
