Recipe - Creamy Bacon Carbonara with Courgette

Image from taste.com.au

​Carbonara is a go-to in our household. We all love it, and it's quick and easy,  the perfect midweek meal. 
Over the years we've tweaked it, added courgettes a la Jamie Oliver, and now we add bacon, courtesy of Oliver and his wood-smoking, pig-farming habits. 
​The recipe I use comes from a book originally, but I've made this so many times I know the quantities off by heart. 

Creamy Bacon Carbonara at Langdale Farm

Ingredients 

• Around half a packet of pasta - we use spirals or spaghetti for Carbonara 

For the sauce mix: 

• Two farm or free range eggs 
• Half a cup of Parmesan cheese 
• Half a cup of sour cream 

Extras: 

• One courgette 
• One packet Langdale Farm bacon 

Assembly 

• Put the pasta on to boil for ten minutes. 
• Warm some olive oil in a pan, slice the courgette (I slice it in half lengthways first so you have half moons) and saute gently. When it's done, remove from the pan and set aside. 
• Slice the bacon - I cut it into inch long segments, I like quite big chunky pieces. Fry in the pan until lightly coloured. 

If you prefer, you can fry the bacon first and then the courgette in the bacon fat. I don't do this because our daughter is a selective meat eater and so i keep the bacon separate and add it at the end for those who want it. 

Sauce mix and final assembly 

• Grate the cheese and mix with the eggs and sour cream. 
• Once the pasta is ready, drain it and return it to the saucepan. Add a small knob of butter and stir through. This makes the dish particularly lush! You can omit it if you're concerned about the overall fat content. 
• Then add the sauce mix and stir through. You want the mix to thicken slightly but not curdle or cook. You can return it to the hob and keep stirring through, or put the lid on and let it sit for a few moments, stirring occasionally. Sometimes I give it a tiny bit of heat again, but keep stirring. 
• Add the courgettes and stir through, and add the bacon (unless one of you isn't having bacon), keeping some in reserve for the top of each dish. 
• Serve in lovely wide bowls. Top each one with bacon. 

For the table 

• Extra Parmesan, ready grated, and black pepper. 
• Ripe tomatoes warmed or roasted in the oven, or braised under a grill, dressed with salt, olive oil, pepper. 
• Sauteed mushrooms are excellent with this dish too.