Please tell me how to make a creamy UK style Carbanara

[Fraom]

8 months pregnant. Have been eating VERY well due to an elevated risk of diabetes (sisters and mum all had it). But I’ve decided one fuck it meal will do no harm.

Please can you tell me how to make a UK-style carbonara which is a bit creamier and less sharp. Something like you would get at Prezzo or Zizzi’s. I tried making one last night and it was far too authentic so it ended up as DH’s lunch today.

Desperate to make one! I’m bored and it will give me something to do.

Thanks a lot!

I don't have a recipe but I used to make a "carbronara" with philadephia and milk and in no way was it authentic 😀

I think it was half a pack of cheese and 200ml of milk then your bacon mushrooms .

I’m pretty sure restaurants add cream for that creamy taste. There is no other explanation or secret.

How are you making it now? I’m not sure how it could be described as sharp.

I do 4 x eggs yolks and 2x egg whites to serve 3/4 - plus a lot of grated Parmesan.

I would fry the pancetta/garlic, then add some double cream and parmesan to the pan, warm it through, bit of black pepper, stir your cooked pasta through. Enjoy OP!

This but with added egg for me - dont overcook egg.

Add cream

Same - Al dente pasta thrown into a hot mix of Philadelphia and milk, a fuck ton of Parmesan with fried off garlic, mushrooms and pancetta.

Big twist of fresh cracked black pepper. Maybe - MAYBE some finely chopped parsley if I was feeling fancy.

This is my everyday one, I think based on a Jamie Oliver recipe?? No claims to authenticity!
Boil the pasta, fry bacon/ham and mushrooms if you like, add parmesan ( or you can do it with grated cheddar) to beaten egg, add a little pasta water to the bacon pan, take off the heat and stir in the egg and cheese fast to make the sauce. Stir in the cooked pasta.
I do it by eye but it's roughly one egg and a handful of cheese per 2 people.

Edit: here's the original recipe.
https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta/easy-carbonara/

Oh get you with your fresh parsley 😀 I haven't made it since the kids left home but it was lovely and I didn't have to worry about eggs that would scramble !

I fry up the bacon and cook the pasta. Hold back some of the pasta water.
Put the drained pasta in with the bacon. Gently add the egg yokes and plenty of Parmesan cheese. Keep adding in the pasta water to get it nice and creamy.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/ultimate-spaghetti-carbonara-recipe

Honestly if I want a carbonara that'd make my husband's Italian family call the Pope on me I buy a jar sauce and zhuzh it up a bit with some extra bacon and pecorino.

If my grandmother had wheels she would have been a bike.

You’d probably be more happy with an Alfredo? Creamy garlicky parmesany dream.

Do you want authentic or just creamy? I do a cream sauce by
boiling pasta
frying off pancetta or chopped bacon, then add garlic. Add double cream and grated Parmesan
tip pasta into sauce
Add more Parmesan and black pepper

sometimes I add broccoli for “health”

I was waiting for this! Could see it coming from the thread title. 😂

My version for the kids is using double cream and garlic. I usually use half a 500ml pot of double cream.

We do ours like this
Fry onions garlic and bacon (DH doesn't eat mushrooms)
Boil pasta
Mix 3 eggs 2tbsp creme fraiche and as much cheese as you like (we like parmesan and cheddar)
Drain pasta, mix everything together, let the heat from the pasta melt the cheese and cook the egg. Lots of black pepper. Serve.

If I wanted it really creamy I'd make a bechamel sauce and just stir the pasta in after. Actually I often buy fresh filled pasta and have it in bechamel sauce (with black pepper, nutmeg and or cheese). My Italian friend is horrified though.

I fry bacon and mushrooms, and any other veg I fancy (so not strictly a carbonara), then pour in a 300ml carton of double cream and heat until it’s thickened. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and then add the creamy sauce and stir through. Can add some raw eggs at this point as it’s still hot enough to cook them. Add grated Parmesan to taste. Lush!

I sometimes make a creamier carbonara but I don't get what you mean by 'too authentic'! My children love my recipe so this is the creamy version of it:

Bacon or equivalent, roasted so it's a bit crispy and chopped.
Roughly an egg per person.
Parmesan; about 1tbsp per egg.
Chopped parsley; about 1/2 to 1 tsp per egg (unconventional but adds a nice freshness).
A splash of double cream; like what you might add to tea.
Ground black pepper.

All the above except the bacon gets put in a mug or a small Pyrex and whisked up.

Cook the pasta to al dente, drain it, then mix through the bacon and eggy mixture. If it's not cooking enough with the heat of the pasta, put the hob on and keep stirring. You don't fully cook the sauce so it's still nice and wet and coats the pasta. You want the eggs to be starting to come together and 'scramble' but not fully cooked.

Hmm not necessarily sharp I guess. Just that aftertaste from the Parmesan. Maybe I need a less posh cheese

NOT authentic. The kind you get from Pizza Express et al

for a creamy sauce I use half double cream half crème fraiche, crumble in a veg oxo cube. Add Parmesan if you like at the end. Use a bit of pasta water to thin it down if needed