A Wild Young Under-Whimsy

A meal I am enjoying at the moment. I am a lazy and unconfident cook. When it comes to preparing food I am better at assembling ingredients, which is why when I'm asked to bring a dish to an event, I tend to plump for stuff like sandwiches, trifles and salads.

In the annals of A Wild Young Under-Whimsy I have shared relatively few recipes from my Freelance Food Cookbook. There is my Delicious Glamour Salad Prepared From Incidental Ingredients, my Meatball Sandwich and Fried Rice, and I think that's about it. But get ready for:

Spaghetti alla carbonara con pesto

1 onion, chopped finely
1 egg
1 rasher bacon, chopped roughly
1/2 small tin low-fat evaporated milk (I substitute this for cream)
dried spaghetti
pecorino cheese, grated (I've got a pecorino pepati which has peppercorns in it)
minced garlic
basil pesto
olive oil
cornflour
chopped fresh parsley
chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper
green chilli hot sauce (optional)

Put the spaghetti on to boil. While it's boiling, crack the egg into a large cup or small jug. Add a generous teaspoon of pesto, a generous handful of grated pecorino, chopped basil and parsley, and the evaporated milk. Add perhaps a teaspoon of cornflour and whisk with a fork until all the ingredients are mixed through and have a smooth, thickened consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste, and a slug of the hot sauce.

When the pasta is almost finished cooking, fry bacon in a pan, adding a little extra olive oil if the bacon is too lean to cook in its own fat. Add garlic and onion and brown in pan with bacon. Turn the heat way down – almost off.

Drain the al dente pasta and add to pan with bacon, onion and garlic. Pour egg, cheese and milk mixture on top and stir it through slowly and gently, making sure ingredients are coating the pasta. Remove from heat immediately when sauce is thick and glossy to prevent it turning into scrambled egg pasta (although it is still delicious even if this happens).

Serve with shitloads of cracked black pepper and a glass of chilled white wine (right now I am into riesling although I recently tried an interesting sparkling sav blanc). Serves one little piggy or two people who give a shit about portion control.