Jamie’s Skinny Carbonara with Gluten Free Fettucine & Pea Pesto

Prepare Ingredients:

Wash the fresh produce. Heat a large pot of salted water to boiling on high. Quarter the lemon. Finely slice the bacon. Trim woody ends off asparagus (discard ends) and cut spears into thirds. Pick basil leaves; discarding stems. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and yoghurt.

Toast Almonds:

Heat a large dry non stick pan on medium-high until hot. Add the almonds and toast, stirring frequently, 2 to 4 minutes, or until fragrant. Transfer to a small bowl.

Prepare Pea Pesto:

In a food processor, add the toasted almond flakes, basil leaves (reserve a couple of leaves for garnish), parmesan, garlic, a pinch of salt and squeeze in the juice of 2 lemon wedges. Blitz until it comes together, then pulse in the peas, try to keep a bit of texture. (Tip: If you do not have a food processor, use a pestle and mortar making sure you mince the garlic and basil leaves before adding the other ingredients).

Cook Pasta:

Add the pasta to the pot of boiling water. Cook 6 minutes, or until just shy of al dente (still slightly firm to the bite). With 2 minutes cooking time remaining on the pasta, add the asparagus. When the pasta is done (and asparagus is bright green), reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta and asparagus thoroughly.

Combine Carbonara:

Using the same pan to toast the almonds, heat 1 tsp of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the bacon and fry until golden and crispy, then use a slotted spoon to transfer to paper towel. Add in ¾ of the pea pesto to heat through. Add the cooked pasta and asparagus from step 5. Take the pan off the heat (NOTE: this is very important, otherwise the egg will scramble when you add it). Pour in the egg mixture and toss until evenly coated, silky and creamy, loosening with reserved cooking water if needed.

You Plate It:

Taste and season with as much salt and pepper as desired. Serve topped with the remaining pea pesto, reserved basil leaves and the crispy bacon. Enjoy!