Big flavours

North London chef HASAN "BIG HAS" SEMAY, a former Jamie Oliver protégé, lends his trademark informality to his debut cookbook.

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Here’s one that everyone gets wrong. We grew up on carbonara sauce out of a little plastic bottle and Mum would just cut in some ham and serve it with garlic bread, like I feel every other British household does. What is our obsession with serving Italian food with store-bought baguettes filled with mystery green butter and forgetting about them in the oven?

Anyway, this is carbonara done properly. Shout-out to the Romans.

CARBONARA 

100g guanciale (cheek bacon), cubed

2 egg yolks

30g parmesan cheese, finely grated

1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, plus extra to serve (optional)

250g penne

salt 

Start off by bringing a pan of salted water up to a rolling boil.

Slowly render the guanciale in a cold pan over a medium heat. The guanciale will become glassy as it renders – we’re looking for it to colour on all sides, but to not go completely crispy. Just give it a nice little golden suntan.

Add the egg yolks, cheese, and a couple of cracks of pepper to a bowl. Don’t worry about mixing them, just leave them be.

Cook the pasta for a minute less than the packet instructions, keeping the guanciale warm without burning it.

Turn the heat up to high on the guanciale, add in your pasta and a few spoons of cooking water. Toss the pasta and the guanciale together so the water thickens with the fat from the guanciale.

Add the pasta and guanciale to the bowl with the eggs and cheese. Add a little spoon of pasta water and stir until smooth and silky. If you feel your sauce is too wishy-washy, add it to the pan and toss it; the residual heat in the pan will thicken the sauce.