The Long Table

My last blog about food was “Rotolo di Zucca e Ricotta“. This time it’s Sausage Carbonara, also from Jamie Oliver’s cookbook, Jaime’s Italy (I love this cookbook). I’m cooking again with Karla, who has gathered some tomatoes and basil from the Alamo Heights Community Garden. Karla is making a tomato pasta with basil, and a butter pasta for the kids. This Sausage Carbonara recipe is super easy and really delicious without being too heavy.

 The dough waiting patiently to be transformed into linguine

 Tomatoes & pancetta

The Sausage Carbonara

Jamie Oliver is also trying to change the way our children eat with his “Food Revolution” click here to learn more about it.

The Recipe

linguine alla carbonara di salsiccia

4 good-quality organic Italian sausages

olive oil

4 slices of thickly cut pancetta, chopped 

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1lb. dried linguine

4 large egg yolks, preferably organic

1/2 c heavy cream

3 1/2 oz. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

zest of 1 lemon

a sprig of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

extra virgin olive oil

“With a sharp knife, slit the sausage skins lengthwise and pop all the meat out. Using wet hands, roll little balls of sausage meat about the size of large marbles and place them to one side.

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 pot of salted water to a boil, add the linguine, and cook according to the package instructions.

In a large bowl, whip up th 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 pot. 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 sticky 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!”