Pasta carbonara with leeks
A fabulously quick egg and pancetta pasta favourite with added vegetables for extra nutrition. It’s surprising how little pancetta and Parmesan cheese you need to achieve a really deep, rich flavour.
| Servings | Prep Time | Cook Time |
| 4servings | 10minutes | 15minutes |
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 4servings | 10minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 15minutes |
Ingredients
- 2 leeks trimmed and sliced
- 90 g smoked pancetta
- 300 g fettuccine
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 4 eggs lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup light sour cream
- 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley chopped
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
Servings: servings
Units:
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Ingredients
Servings: servings
Units:
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Instructions
- Put a large pot of lightly salted water on to boil. Add the leeks and cook gently for 3 minutes until just tender. Remove the leeks to a plate using a slotted spoon. Preheat a grill to medium.
- Place the pancetta on the rack of the grill and cook for 2 minutes until beginning to become crisp (or use a ridged grill pan on the stove). Remove and break into rough pieces.
- Bring the water back to a boil and if necessary, top up with a little more boiling water from the kettle. Drop the pasta into the water and cook for 6 minutes, or according to the package instructions. Add the peas to the water for the last 3 minutes of the cooking time and bring back to a boil. Stir occasionally to make sure that no pasta is sticking to the base of the pan.
- Lightly whisk the eggs with the sour cream and freshly ground black pepper to season. Drain the pasta and peas and immediately return them to the hot pan. Stir in the egg mixture, which will cook in the heat of the pasta. Then quickly add the pancetta, leeks and parsley and lightly toss everything together.
- Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top and season to taste with more pepper. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Variation: You can replace the pancetta with 90 grams (3 oz) smoked salmon or smoked lean ham, cut into strips. Neither needs cooking. Just toss into the cooked pasta at step 4.
Each serving: 26.5 g protein, 16 g fat of which 7.5 g saturates, 49 g carbohydrate, 7.5 g fibre, 462 Calories
