Jamie Oliver’s title, not mine. Yes it’s another recreation from Jamie’s America
The key differences to mine were to add sliced garlic to the roux. This did lend an interesting smoky note to it which I enjoyed, but I didn’t feel adding both cheddar and parmesan did much for it. If I was going to improve on it, some pancetta would be nice and chewy. This is still a work in progress.
I apologise for that photo, it makes it look really rough. It wasn’t though, honest!
I was driving home on Sunday and was hit by a sudden wave of pasta-longing: I wanted carbonara. I haven’t had any in ages. So that was Monday’s dinner sorted. One small catch though; with my wife about 8 months pregnant barely-cooked egg didn’t seem like the smartest of moves therefore some invention was required. As Dad-Baker pointed out, “If you can make a pasta sauce Look like a Carbonara, Taste like a Carbonara and Smell like a Carbonara, then surely it Must be a Carbonara – even if there are no eggs in it. “ How to change it then?
After some research it seemed like cream cheese was the way to go, not only was it skipping eggs but came with the bonus of avoiding mega fattening cream too. Also added peas as a passing nod to a rounded meal. Mushrooms would also be welcome here for a more alfredo style. The result was very satisfying, definitely ticking all the right carbonara boxes: creamy, cheesy, silky. Ready in no time at all to boot.
Not quite carbonara (serves 2):
5 tagliatelle nests
1 tablespoon garlic oil*
75g pancetta
175g light cream cheese
Grated parmesan, to taste
handful frozen peas
- Cook the tagliatelle according to packet instructions. (Give them plenty of space to expand!)
- Meanwhile, fry the pancetta in the garlic oil until browned all over.
- Add your cream cheese, mashing it up a bit to break it down.
- It probably won’t have formed a sauce so ladle out a tablespoonful at a time of your pasta water to thin it until it’s a smooth creamy consistency. Add grated parmesan and season until you’re happy with it.
- Add the peas, simmer for a minute more, then toss with the cooked pasta to combine.
*I have a bottle in my cupboard of garlic oil I’ve made – just a few cloves of garlic left in a bottle of fairly-good olive oil. Well worth it – I used up a Christmas gift of oil for this purpose!
Yet again another Jewish recipe from the Gentile! There’s an honesty and heartiness to the Jewish kitchen that I keep coming back to. I was in part spurred on by Comedinewithcathy’s recent attempt, though I luckily had no such genuine benchmark against which to be measured. My version, like hers, comes from Jamie Oliver’s recent book Jamie’s America
I’d already used the breasts and wings of a whole chicken for a tray bake earlier in the week among other dishes, so the remainder of the carcass and went in a pot of cold water for half an hour. I skimmed off a great deal of scum then piled in chopped carrot, celery, garlic, thyme and bay. After an hour there was golden chicken fat floating to the surface, so I skimmed that off too for the dumplings later. After anhour and a half I strained off the contents to police for skin, bones, thyme stalks and lacklustre veg, and tore the meat from the bones before returning it all to the pan.
Then came the matzo balls (Jacob’s balls, I guess I should call them): powdered crackers, 2 beaten eggs, water, salt and pepper and a little of the skimmed chicken fat beaten together until thick, then left for a few minutes to firm up. I then scooped into balls and added to the bubbling soup. After twenty minutes they had doubled in size, then for a final ten minutes I added broken up vermicelli, parsley and dill.
I can see why this would be a great meal when you’re down – it’s dense with robust flavour, and the tender vegetables give you a warming feeling inside. The herb lend a freshness while the ‘noodles’ and dumplings give you sustenance. It’s very filling, and easy to see why it can be a family favourite. Another time I’d be tempted to pull it in another direction – with little fiddling it could end up as a lhaksa, and a dash of tabasco or fish sauce, topped with spring onions could really give it a final zing.
