Feed five for under a fiver

by Paul Warburton on 11 September 2009  |  10 comments
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Check out this amazing recipe for spaghetti alla carbonara - and feed five for less than £5!

Recipe #13: Spaghetti alla carbonara

• 500g of Tesco organic spaghetti (56p)
• 250g of Tesco unsmoked back bacon (£1.23)
• 284ml of double cream (59p)
• 60g of Tesco finest grated parmesan (£1)

• 6 Tesco organic medium eggs (£1.45)

The cupboard staples...

Olive oil and black pepper.

Total cost

If you already have the cupboard staples, then according to mysupermarket.co.uk, this trolley was cheapest at Tesco, where it came to just £4.83!

Instructions

This is a classic and beautifully simple dish - surely everyone in the family enjoys spaghetti alla carbonara? And it's cheap. This is also made the Italian way.

• Firstly get the spaghetti cooked, al dente of course. I would say 100g of spaghetti per person - so 500g.
• Now get a little olive oil in a fry pan and gently fry off the bacon until crisp. This will take about 3 to 4 minutes.
• Get a bowl and whisk together the eggs (4 egg whites and 6 yolks), cheese and cream - season with a little salt and lots of black pepper.
• The spaghetti should be cooked by now. So drain and put back in the saucepan. Add the bacon (including the oils) and cream, cheese and egg mixture. You'll need to stir a lot here so all the spaghetti gets coated.

• Serve with some garlic bread and happy eating!

A bit about our Chef, Paul Warburton

Paul Warburton, a lovemoney.com staff member, had a hectic career in the world of hot kitchens and screaming chefs before joining the lovemoney.com products development team.

During these years, under the tutorage of some great chefs, he honed his skills in cooking for numbers within a tight cost and portion-controlled environment.

Now he's planning to regularly offer his help to all budding chefs in the lovemoney.com community, so you can enjoy his original, low-cost recipes with your family and friends every Saturday for free!

What lovemoney.com readers have said about Paul's other recipes

"I made this recipe and it was absolutely delicious! Seriously good! Five of us feasted on it, and feasted well..." Ibeshy

"I made this recipe on Saturday night, and my 13 year-old son promptly requested it again for the following night!" Malcolm Wheatley

"This is a cracking risotto recipe. Just had it for lunch & it's a winner. More recipes please. Thanks." SavvyLass

Please add your own comments using the comments box below!

If you like this recipe, why not also try Paul's other 'Feed five for under a fiver' recipes: Pork stroganoff | Green chilli meat balls, sunflower seed couscous salad and mint yoghurt |  Tagliatelle with air dried cured ham and minted peas | Beef, thyme and mushroom loaf with potato dauphinoise | Mixed bean and coriander green curry with fragrant rice | Egg Florentine with smoked cheddar and rocket salad | Beef, mushroom and thyme pie | Spicy tuna, bean and coriander lasagne |  Beef koftas with a feta, spinach and fresh mint salad | Chorizo and pea risotto | Sausage and rosemary hotpot | Beef & thyme (Lacashire) hotpot