3660. CRISPY BACON and SAUSAGE CARBONARA

serves four


400 grams penne
4 sausages
8 slices streaky bacon
1 onion, finely chopped
3 large egg yolks
4 tablespoons single cream
85 grams parmesan, finely grated
small bunch parsley, finely chopped 

Cook the pasta following pack instructions. Meanwhile, squeeze the meat out of the sausage casings and, with damp or lightly oiled hands, roll into small-ish balls. 

Heat a frying pan and cook the bacon until really crispy. Remove and keep warm. Fry the sausage balls until golden and cooked through, remove and keep warm (a low oven is good for this). Cook the onion in the fat from the bacon and sausage balls (tip some out if you need to) until soft. 

In a small bowl, mix the egg yolks, cream, most of the Parmesan and most of the parsley with lots of black pepper and a pinch of salt. Drain the pasta, reserving a ladle of water. Tip the pasta back into the pan, off the heat, and add the egg mix, onions and sausage balls. Mix well, adding some pasta water until you have a sauce that coats the pasta. Tip into bowls, scatter over the remaining parsley and Parmesan, and top with the bacon.


bacon recipe source: Lucy Netherton, Good Food magazine, BBC, April 2013