RecipesDinner
Dinner
High-Protein Carbonara
Spaghetti tossed off the heat in a pecorino and egg sauce with crisp lean smoked bacon, finished with extra pecorino and black pepper.
- Serves
- 3
- Prep
- 10min
- Cook
- 15min
- Total
- 25min
Programs: Fat Loss, Muscle Gain, Maintenance, Blood Sugar, Cholesterol
Per serving
- Calories
- 572kcal
- Protein
- 35.7g
- Carbs
- 67g
- Fat
- 17.3g
- Fibre
- 2.7g
Ingredients
For 3 servings · MetricUS
- 250gspaghetti
- 3eggslarge
- 1egg yolklarge, extra for richness
- 60gpecorino, finely gratedor parmesan
- 150glean smoked bacon medallions, choppednot streaky
- 1 clovegarlic, lightly crushedwhole, for the fat only
- black peppercoarsely ground, to taste
- salt
- 9 ozspaghetti
- 3eggslarge
- 1egg yolklarge, extra for richness
- 2 ozpecorino, finely gratedor parmesan
- 5 ozlean smoked bacon medallions, choppednot streaky
- 1 clovegarlic, lightly crushedwhole, for the fat only
- black peppercoarsely ground, to taste
- salt
Method
Boil the water.
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to the boil for the spaghetti.
Make the egg mixture.
While the water heats, crack the eggs and extra yolk into a bowl. Add the pecorino and a generous amount of black pepper. Beat hard until you get a thick, pale paste. This is the base of the sauce, get it smooth now so it does not lump later.
Cook the bacon.
Set a large pan over medium heat with no oil. Add the bacon and the crushed garlic clove. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is crisp and has rendered its fat. Remove the garlic clove and discard it.
Cook the pasta.
Cook the spaghetti according to pack instructions until just al dente.
Just before draining, scoop out a mugful of the starchy pasta water and set it aside.
Combine and serve.
Turn off the heat under the bacon pan and let it cool for a minute so it will not scramble the eggs.
Drain the spaghetti, then tip it straight into the bacon pan off the heat. Toss to coat in the fat.
Add a splash of the reserved pasta water to the egg mixture first to temper it, stirring quickly, then pour the whole lot over the pasta. Toss constantly off the heat, using the residual warmth of the pan and pasta to thicken the eggs into a glossy sauce. Add more pasta water a splash at a time until it coats the strands loosely.
Serve immediately with extra pecorino and black pepper on top.