Lovin Kċina’s Carbonara With A Maltese Twist – How To Add Some Local Flavour To The Classic Italian
Carbonara… What’s not to love?
Egg Yolks, Pancetta and Pecorino. Simple, yet so satisfying. It’s creamy, it’s salty, it’s carby… and it’s perfect!
It’s true, we have been blessed with a number of restaurants who have mastered the art of Carbonara, but some creative souls have taken it upon themselves to create a Maltese version of this Italian masterpiece.
And I’ve absolutely fallen in love with it. So here’s my version of the ‘Carbonara Maltija’. It’s a super quick recipe, and great for when you need a hug in a bowl after a long day!
(Serves 2) Here’s what you’ll need:
- 200 grams Penne
- 4 Egg Yolks
- 2 Peppered ‘Ġbejniet’ (cut or grated into small chunks)
- Maltese sausage
- One Medium sized Onion (diced)
- One Garlic Clove (diced)
Now that you’ve got the ingredients, here’s what you do with them to make the magic happen.
- Start heating up a large pot of salted water.
- Remove the Maltese sausage from its casing and separate into marble-sized meatballs with diced onion and garlic.
- Sauté the Onion, Garlic, and sausage until the onion has browned. Do this while the water’s coming to a boil.
- Beat the egg yolks with one grated peppered ġbejna.
- Once the water has come to a boil, add pasta and boil for 1 minute less than advised on the packet.
- Save one cup of pasta water and drain the rest, then immediately transfer the hot pasta to the pan with the Maltese sausage mixture.
- Add 1/2 a cup of pasta water to the pan and cook out. Remove from heat and place in a large bowl. Add the beaten eggs with cheese and toss quickly to combine. Add some pasta water back to the pasta to keep it from drying out.
- Serve with Ġbejna shavings and fresh chopped parsley.
- Enjoy!
And that’s all there is to it!