One of the best things about having friends stay is that you learn new ways to cook old things. Spaghetti alla carbonara was one of the first main meals I learnt to cook. And I was very proud that it wasn’t done in the usual Australian style, with each strand coated with gluggy, heart-attack-inducing cream. Most recipes I’d tried felt as though something was missing. And as I learnt last night, what better way to fix a dish, than to add masses of heart-attack-inducing cheese.

Pasta alla Carbonara

Spaghetti / Penne / Fettucine / Linguini alla carbonara has a disputed history. It’s name may come from woodcutters who cooked it over charcoal, from the secret Carbonari (aka charcoal burners) group, from the word ‘carbone’ (meaning charcoal) as the flecks of black pepper resemble charcoal flakes… or maybe even from it’s supposed original black colour as it may have been made with squid ink. Thankfully for us, none of that changes its great taste.

It’s usually made with spaghetti, but I can vouch that it works just as well with penne (or other pastas). And traditionally, you’d use eggs, pecorino romano (a hard, salty Italian cheese), guanciale (an unsmoked Italian bacon) and black pepper. But grab the closest you can find.

The recipe itself is quite simple and quick to cook (serves 4, so adjust to suit as this doesn’t reheat well):

• Beat 5 eggs and stir in masses of grated cheese (100-200g). As our friend suggested, the cheese is where you can get creative: try some substitutions if you have a favourite (or leftover) cheese; experiment with differing amounts, depending on whether you’re a cheese lover or cheese tolerator – 50g is the minimum though!.
• Cube and fry 8 rashers of bacon and in the meantime, cook 500g pasta until al dente.
• Then take the pasta off the heat and stir in the egg. It’s important not to mix the egg in over heat, or you’ll get scrambled eggs, rather than slickly coated pasta. Add the bacon and as much black pepper as you like. If you happen to have any cheese left, sprinkle on top and serve.