Courgette & Mushroom Carbonara

Put a large pan of water on to boil. Cut or snip the bacon into small strips, slice the courgettes length ways in quarters and then remove the soft seedy part by running a knife along each strip. Chop these long strips into 'penne' sized chunks. Strip the leaves off the thyme and set all aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large deep pan and begin to fry the bacon on a moderately high heat. Once browned and crisp, add the courgette, mushrooms and thyme and turn the heat down and continue to cook slowly until veggies are soft. Stir often, coating the veggies in the fried bacon residue.

The water should now be boiling, add the spaghetti and cook to packet instructions. Mix together the egg yolks, double cream and half the parmesan, season with black pepper (you could add salt if you like but I find that with the parmesan and bacon it is not necessary)

Once your veggies are lightly browned and soft and your spaghetti is cooked, take the veggie pan off the heat. Drain the spaghetti keeping aside a little cooking water, and add this to the veggie pan immediately. Stir round and then quickly add the creamy sauce (the heat of the spaghetti will be enough to cook the eggs without scrambling them.) Stir through ensuring the spaghetti is coated in sauce and then add the remaining parmesan.

Take straight to the table and serve from the pan! Eat up quickly, the fresher the better with this one - although I have microwaved leftovers before to satisfactory result.