As I mentioned yesterday, the inspiration for this meal came from the Eat Pray Love cook-off with Pick n Pay and Fresh Living and my choice was Italian – Bacon and Courgette Carbonara with Spaghetti.
The original carbonara contains eggs and parmesan cheese but I have never been a fan of using eggs in that way and far prefer a good old white sauce. The original recipe from PNP uses bacon and courgettes but for a healthier meal and one where you need to feed quite a few people, chicken is far better than bacon. To make up for the colour of the bacon, that is why I used red peppers.
I always find that the longer I take to cook, the cleaner the kitchen is at the end of it – so not always a bad thing! Start off with cutting and preparing everything, the garlic I used 1 clove per person, plus an extra 2.Chop that up and put aside. Then for the red pepper – slice it thinly and as for the courgettes – cut them in half length ways and use a peeler to cut thin slices so that they look like little ribbons.
The sauce is my favorite because of how easy it is to make and just how many things you can do with it. In fact, the possibilities are really endless. Carbonara calls for eggs to be used, but seeing as I am not too fond of eggs unless they are fried or poached for breakfast (I dont eat egg yolks either unless it is in a batter or omlette) I decided to make a classic white sauce with my twist.
Depending on how much sauce you need to make, you will need more or less of everything. A block this size of butter was just enough for a whole packet of pasta.
Put it in the pot and melt it while adding half of the garlic. Once the garlic is cooked a little you can add the same amount of flour to butter. So it should end up looking like a paste that isn’t too think, but also not too thin.
Cook the flour and then take the pot off the heat and add a mixture of boiling water with stock, and milk. Add the liquids to the roux little by little while stirring to avoid lumps. At this point you can add seasoning and cheese if you like.
While you are doing all of that you also need to cut chicken and fry it up. Use a glug of oil, and some chicken spice if you like.Then remove the chicken from the pan and saute the red peppers and rest of the garlic. Add the courgettes to the pan but only for a short time otherwise they will wilt and loose their colour.
Add the chicken and the sauce to the red peppers and courgettes and then mix in with the pasta. Again the typical carbonara also includes parmesan cheese but being an “end of the month meal” grated gouda did a good enough job.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! ( Myself and the four hungry boys)
My challenge tonight: Chicken Curry in a hurry 
I believe the most basic important part of cooking is finding the best ingredients. I have been going to open air market in NYC that sell the best stuff, fresh breads, vegetables. I have been visiting websites on the internet which I think is so great for finding recipes.