Broccoli Carbonara

Ingredients

• 300g dried pasta, spaghetti or short pasta
• 400g broccoli florets
• 8 slices Parma ham, roughly torn
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 large eggs
• 100g Parmesan cheese, finely grated, plus extra (optional) to serve
• salt and black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Cook the dried pasta in boiling, salted water according to the packet instructions, adding the broccoli florets for the final 3–4 minutes. Reserve 300ml of the pasta cooking water, then drain.
2. While the pasta cooks, heat a large frying pan over medium heat and cook the Parma ham until crisp, adding the garlic for the final 30 seconds.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs with the Parmesan cheese and a generous pinch of black pepper.
4. Add the hot pasta and broccoli to the pan with the Parma ham, remove from the heat and quickly stir in the egg-Parmesan mixture, adding splashes of the reserved pasta water until the sauce is silky and clings to the pasta.
5. Season with salt and black pepper to taste and serve straight away, with extra Parmesan if you like.

Notes

A carbonara is actually such a quick pasta dish to make, using ingredients most of us have in the refrigerator. When-a-carbonara-meets-a-classic-cheesy-broccoli-pasta recipe — not authentic, but by no means any less delicious.