Macaroni Carbonara

Everyone loves carbonara, it's simple to make and it's super tasty!  Admittedly, it isn't the healthiest of pasta options, what with it being full of dairy but you can use fat reduced products and it will still taste as lovely.  This is the carbonara I made earlier in the week, I didn't have any spaghetti so I used macaroni, which was just was as lovely.

To make the carbonara you will need....

Ingredients: enough for 4 with some left over for tomorrow's lunch

For the pasta:

• x1 small bag of macaroni shells
• x2 tbsp chicken stock (liquid knorr, or one whole knorr stock tub)
• Salt and pepper

For the sauce:

• x1 regular sized tub of reduced fat creme fraiche 
• Grated parmesan
• Mozzarella
• Splash of milk
• x2 garlic cloves
• Dash of white pepper
• x1 pack of un-smoked bacon

Method:

1. In a large pan of boiling water, add the chicken stock, salt, pepper and macaroni shells. Boil until cooked (some pasta shells from different shops or different makes take longer than others, I used Morrison's own macaroni shells and it took 15 minutes for them to cook).
2. After the pasta has been boiling for 10 minutes, chop up the bacon in to small cubes, removing as much of the excess fat as you can.  Add to a small frying pan and lightly simmer until golden on the edges.
3. Strain the pasta in a colander and tip back in to the original large pan.  Chop up some garlic in to small pieces and add to the pasta, then add the milk (enough to cover the bottom of the pan), then the creme fraiche, mozzerella and as much parmesan as you would like.  Stir gently on a low heat until the cheese has melted and then stir in the bacon.
4. Turn the heat up on the pan and give the pasta a quick heat blitz before serving it.

Enjoy hot or cold, for lunch or dinner! Happy eating!