Italian has been my favourite food ever since I did a food tour in Rome a few years ago. I had a carbonara from a really quaint and traditional small Italian restaurant near the Colosseum, with some white wine, and I fell in love with the dish.
The simplicity of the meal coupled with the extraordinary taste is so impressive.
Carbonara is my go-to Italian dish because I love the creamy texture, but also it’s a really easy one to make at home when I’m only cooking for myself. It also gives me the energy I need after a long day of training and work.
This version of carbonara is great because it came from IRFU high performance chef Maurice McGeehan, who cooks for the Irish rugby players while on Ireland duty. A bit of garlic bread is also a lovely addition alongside the carbonara, if you want to treat yourself.
Greg O’Shea is an Olympian, TV personality and contributor to the new Aldi IRFU cookbook, Home, published in aid of Barnados. He won the 2019 series of Love Island alongside Amber Gill
Greg O’Shea’s egg tagliatelle carbonara
Serves 4
Ingredients
400g fresh egg tagliatelle
3 egg yolks
3 whole eggs
150g Parmesan cheese, grated
200g pancetta, rind removed and cut into small dice
2 tbsp olive oil
35ml extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
Method
1 To start, in a large bowl whisk together the eggs, egg yolks and most of the grated Parmesan with a pinch of salt.
2 Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat and fry the diced pancetta for 5-10 minutes until it has turned golden brown and crispy and all the fat has been rendered off, then turn the heat down to low.
3 To cook the egg tagliatelle, bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, add in the tagliatelle and cook for eight minutes.
4 When the pasta is nearly ready, use tongs to transfer the tagliatelle from the water to the saucepan with the pancetta and add a large ladle or two of the water from the pasta.
5 Pour the egg and Parmesan mix into the pasta and, using a wooden spoon, stir the mix into the pasta vigorously.
6 If you see the eggs starting to scramble add a little more pasta water to the pot, or if you have added too much water keep stirring the carbonara over a low heat for a few minutes, the sauce should have a creamy consistency.
7 Stir in the extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve in a warm dish and sprinkle the rest of the Parmesan over the top.
