NATURAL HEAVEN HEARTS OF PALM SPAGHETTI CARBONARA WITH BACON - By Chef Nicola

One of the things that people typically struggle to give up when adopting a low-carb diet is pasta. People adore the carb since it’s so filling and versatile, and we completely understand that!

Luckily, our hearts of palm pasta is a great way to get your classic carb hit without actually falling into the trap of eating wheat-based pasta.

For this recipe, we would suggest sourcing the best bacon you can, as it’s where most of the flavor will be coming from. We would suggest going to your nearest butcher, and seeing if they have any that they’ve cured themselves - the flavor will be immaculate, and likely completely different from something that you might pick up from the supermarket.

As well as the bacon, it’s worth trying to track down some really great pecorino cheese. While you’ll likely be able to get this from a local supermarket, try to go the extra mile and find a good cheesemonger. Taking that extra step will be really notable in the final meal.

Ingredients

3 cups Natural Heaven Spaghetti
1 cup water
4 egg yolks
1 cup diced bacon
2 tbsp pecorino cheese
1tsp olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method

Start off by washing and draining the Natural heaven spaghetti. The reason that we do this is to ensure that the noodles are free from any excess starch, or any liquid that may have come from them during the packaging and shipping process - this allows the final meal to have a cleaner, more straightforward final taste. Leave the spaghetti in the strainer while you cook, as this will allow any excess moisture to drain over time.
The next thing to do is to dice your bacon. Everyone has a way that they prefer to have their bacon in carbonara - we recommend strips around three centimeters long and one centimeter across.
Add those strips of bacon to a pan over a low heat with the olive oil, and then allow them to sear and cook in the heat. You should aim for the bacon to be slightly crispy at the edges, while also still being a little chewy in the middle - these textures combine very well in a dish such as this one.
To the pan containing the bacon, add the water and egg yolks at once. Be careful when doing this, as the water could boil very quickly, due to the hot oil in the pan. Stir the yolks and water in with the bacon, and allow them to come together a little in the relatively cool pan - it ought to be starting to cook, without solidifying in a notable way.
Stir the spaghetti into the pan, being sure to be quick with the tongs and allowing the sauce to coat all of the noodles. Making sure that the sauce coats the noodles is exceptionally important, as this will get the flavor well distributed.
Serve the spaghetti in small piles, and sprinkle the pecorino cheese on top. The meal should be simple, but still pretty and delicate on the plate.