KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 — Imagine a world without spaghetti carbonara. That would be a world without creaminess, without indulgence, without dreams.

Yes, I am passionate about my spaghetti carbonara. This classic Italian pasta dish is a brilliant coming together of fresh, raw eggs, the beautifully hard and salty Italian cheese made from the goodness of sheep’s milk, Pecorino Romano cheese, and pancetta. Well, that’s the classic version.

And contrary to popular belief, the Italian version does NOT have any cream in it. Those with the cream in it are the improvised versions, just like how Parmesan cheese is now used instead of Pecorino Romano and countries in the East tend to substitute bacon for pancetta. All these substitutions are done to help adapt the dish to the different cultures, and of course, because of the availability (or not) of ingredients in different regions.

And they all produce almost the same results — a dish of light yellow spaghetti strands with a saucy whiteness that has layer upon layer of creaminess. Topped with crispy strips of fried bacon. Oooohhh!!

When making a dish like this, it is very important to give some thought to the ingredients and cooking method beforehand. Like most dishes, using the best ingredients aids tremendously in yielding good results, so it’s a good idea to invest in quality ingredients.

You also have to keep a watchful eye on the timing, especially when adding the egg mixture in the end — by the time you add the egg mixture, the heat should have been turned off, and the egg would have to cook in the heat remaining in the pasta.

So if your timing is out, you may end up with a gross, soggy egg-smelling dish instead. Don’t worry though. If you do follow the recipe below, this would be a piece of cake.

This dish has to be eaten immediately once it is cooked, while it’s still hot and vapours of heat and flavour are still emanating from it. The sauce tends to thicken if left for too long, and does not sit well, so always make sure it is served immediately.

One thing to note though, pregnant women are advised to avoid this dish as it contains raw eggs. It can be hazardous if the eggs contain salmonella, which will in turn affect the growth of the baby in the womb. So please, do control your cravings till you’ve delivered the little one. Should have mentioned this earlier… but I got carried away.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Serves 2

200gm dried spaghetti

150gm bacon, cut into thin strips

Handful of fresh button mushrooms, skin peeled and sliced thinly

1 chicken egg, lightly beaten

20gm Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese, finely grated

1 clove garlic, skin peeled and left whole

Salt and pepper to taste

Flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped for garnish

1. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water (about 2 tablespoon) over high heat for 8-9 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in saucepan and saute garlic for 2 minutes over medium heat.

3. Remove garlic from the oil and add bacon strips into the pan. Saute until bacon looks slightly burnt at the edges.

4. Add mushrooms to the saucepan and continue to fry over medium heat for further 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Drain pasta, reserving about 1 tablespoon water.

6. Using a clean bowl, beat eggs and cheese together.

7. Add cooked bacon, mushrooms and pasta to the bowl and mix thoroughly with the tablespoon of pasta water.

8. Scatter chopped parsley over pasta just before serving.