Sausage Carbonara

This is like having a breakfast dish of pasta and it is absolutely delicious! If you are a fan of sausages and eggs you’ll love this combination. Not only does it look impressive but it’s so quick to make. PS There’s a subtle line between having a smooth, silky egg sauce and scrambled eggs – both will taste delicious but smooth and silky is far more desirable.
Serves4
CostModerate
Kid FriendlyYes
OccasionCasual Dinner Party
Recipe CourseMain Course
Dietary ConsiderationPeanut Free, Soy Free, Tree Nut Free
MealDinner
MoodBlue
Taste and TextureCheesy, Creamy, Meaty, Rich, Tart, Umami
Type of DishDry Pasta, Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 good-quality organic Italian sausages
- Olive oil
- 4 slices of thickly cut pancetta, chopped
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 455g/1lb dried linguine
- 4 large egg yolks, preferably organic
- 100ml/3 ½ fl oz double cream (heavy cream)
- 100g/3 ½ oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Zest of 1 lemon
- A sprig of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
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With a sharp knife, slit the sausage skins lengthways and pop all the meat out. Using wet hands, roll little balls of sausagemeat about the size of large marbles and place them to one side.
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Heat a large frying pan and add a good splash of olive oil. Gently fry the sausage meatballs until golden brown all over, then add the pancetta and continue cooking for a couple of minutes, until it’s golden. While this is cooking, bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the linguine, and cook according to the packet instructions.
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In a large bowl, whip up the egg yolks, cream, half the Parmesan, the lemon zest, and the parsley. When the pasta is cooked, drain it in a colander, reserving a little of the cooking water, and immediately toss it quickly with the egg mixture back in the pasta pan. Add the hot sausage meatballs and toss everything together. The egg will cook delicately from the heat of the linguine, just enough for it to thicken and not scramble. The sauce should be smooth and silky. If the pasta becomes a little claggy, add a few spoonfuls of the reserved cooking water to loosen it slightly. Sprinkle over the rest of the Parmesan, season if necessary, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and serve. Eat immediately!
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2006 Jamie Oliver