I feel a bit naughty writing this post, as if some Italian pasta purist will come after me for Carbonara blasphemy.

The confession is this: I sometimes put vegetables in my Pasta alla Carbonara. Tsk, tsk!

Most Italians would scrunch up their noses in disgust at that statement.  Funny thing is, I have always fancied myself to be one of those pasta purists too. I follow many of the cardinal rules of pasta, I never marry seafood pasta with cheese (my mother would strongly disapprove) and ‘If it’s not al dente, it’s in the bin’. But like most people, I do commit the occasional pasta sin.

So shoot me.

Truth is, I’m like any figure-conscious-twenty-something-female, I feel a little bit guilty about my dinner containing next to zero vegetables. Trouble is I have an inherent weakness for Pasta alla Carbonara. There’s just something about arriving home hungry from work on a cold, dark night, that drives me straight to carbs and cheese….and my beloved deli meats.  I (often) find myself in this vegetable predicament and so that’s how I got to putting vegetables in my Carbonara.

Now, before you all start have visions of me emptying the remnants of a frozen bag of peas, corn and carrot into a slurry of egg, please give me some credit. There is NO throwing the leftovers from the fridge into any old spaghetti sauce in my house. This ‘Cauliflower Carbonara’ of mine has been carefully thought out and has turned into one of my favourite weeknight meals at the moment. Tasty, quick, cheap and contains at least some element of all the food groups.  It would probably also make most Italians cringe, but since I’m Australian-Italian, my Carbonara is allowed to be too.

So since this is my dish, these are my rules:

1. Use spaghetti. No other pasta shapes allowed for this one.
2. Use the best eggs you can find, luckily I have backyard connections which makes for Carbonara the colour of sunshine! But don’t stress if you can’t find a chicken to chase, good free range will do.
3. Don’t skimp on the cheese. Use a cheese with robust flavour like a good parmesan, pecorino or even pecorino pepato, this will contribute a lot of flavour and creaminess to the dish and help you to get a silky sauce without cream. – That’s right, real Carbonara doesn’t contain cream, (but it tastes really good when you sneak some in!)

Cauliflower Carbonara

Serves 2

2 tablespoons olive oil
½ small red onion, finely diced
50g pancetta, roughly diced (or use prosciutto or bacon)
200g spaghetti
300g (about ½ small head) cauliflower
3 eggs
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan or pecorino*
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Heat the olive oil in a large frypan and add onion and pancetta, gently sauté for 2-3 minutes until onion is softened.
2. Cook spaghetti in a large saucepan of boiling salted water, until just al dente.
3. In the meantime, chop the cauliflower very finely, add to the pancetta mixture and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Spoon in two tablespoons of pasta water, cover and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the cauliflower is tender and a little bit caramelised.
4. Whisk the eggs and parmesan in a bowl with a generous grinding of pepper. Drain the pasta, reserving about ½ cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the frypan and turn off the heat.
5. Beat 1/4 cup of the water into the egg mixture and then pour into the frypan, quickly tossing for 1-2 minutes until the pasta is well coated and silky, if it’s a little thick, you can add more of the pasta water. Serve immediately sprinkled liberally with pepper and extra parmesan.

Tip: For something a little richer, add a slurp of cream or sour cream to the egg mixture and cut down on the additional cooking water – truly heaven.
*I use a microplane to grate my parmesan, then pack it into the cup measure firmly.