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Recipe: Pancetta & Poached Egg Carbonara

I recently bought the most beautiful piece of pancetta at ACME Meat Market they made using Country Accent‘s Mangalitsa pork. When I took it home and crisped up some pieces in a frying pan I knew it would be perfect for a carbonara pasta dish. I’ve also been playing around with my new sous vide machine and thought it could be nice to have a soft-poached egg served on top rather than mixed into the cream sauce in the traditional way.

If you don’t have a sous vide machine don’t worry – a classic soft poached egg done in water the old-fashioned way will produce the same result. Visit ACME Meat Market or your neighbourhood butcher to source local pancetta.

What you’ll need…

150 g pancetta, diced

1/2 cup heavy cream (35%)

4 eggs

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish

1 shallot, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

200 g fettuccine

2 tbsp of fresh basil or parsley, chopped

ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

If using a sous-vide machine, place four eggs in 63 C for 45 minutes.

In a large saucepan over low-medium heat, cook pancetta for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and shallots and continue to cook until shallots are transparent, approximately 3-5 more minutes. Add the cream and reduce to low to just keep warm.

Cook the fettuccine according to package directions until al dente.

Meanwhile poach your eggs.

Drain pasta and add to cream sauce; mix to coat noodles. Add parmesan and season with black pepper to taste.

Dish out four portions of pasta to each bowl and top with poached egg. If using sous vide eggs – gently crack eggs onto the top of the pasta. Top with fresh herbs, optional extra parmesan and serve immediately.