Description: Simple yet delectable pasta. Rich flavour of pancetta is irresistible. Additional white wine gives a nice flavour to pasta. This can be a fantastic midweek meal or weekend treat meal.
Serves: 2
Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• Spaghetti – 160g
• Pancetta – 100g
• Pecorino cheese – 40g
• Garlic – chopped in fine pieces, 2 cloves
• Dry white wine – 100 mL
• Ground lack pepper – 2 dashes
• Olive oil – ½ tablespoon

Method

1. Cook the penne pasta until al dente in plenty of boiling water with salt.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large non-stick frying pan and fry the garlic and pancetta. 
3. Add the hot drained pasta, olive oil and wine to the pan and mix well.
4. Add pecorino cheese and ground black pepper, then mix well 

To serve: sprinkle additional black pepper and/or salt according to personal preference.

Nutritional Values Per Serving

Kcal	Protein	Fat	Carbs	Fibre	Sugars	Salt	Saturated Fat	Vitamin B1	Vitamin B2	Vitamin B3
628.9	25.0g	24.3g	62.1g	3.0g	2.3g	2.2g	12.7g	0.8mg	0.4mg	5.8mg
31.4%	50.0%	34.7%	23.9%	9.9%	2.5%	36.5%	63.3%	101.1%	34.1%	44.5%

Nutritional Tips

This dish is simple to prepare and just superb, it would be however ideal to eat some greens altogether as it is high in calories, fat, protein and salt. You may consider having dishes which are low in these and more carbs and fibres which are likely to be fruits, vegetables for fibres, potatoes, bread, and cereals for carbs in other meals. Also, a healthier option would be using less pancetta (70g) and pasta (150g). This would lower the energy intake of each serving by 100 kcal.

Pecorino cheese is made from sheep’s milk and its colour is generally white or pale yellow. It’s one of the saltiest cheeses and can be added to dishes instead of salt. While parmesan cheese contains 0.9g of salt (342.8mg of sodium) per 20g, pecorino cheese contains 0.6g of salt (235mg of sodium). 20g is just about enough to cook carbonara. Hard cheese tends to be preserved longer than soft cheese, especially if kept in the freezer. From time to time, adding a bit of cheese instead of salt would give you a nice change or an appetizing smell. However, bear in mind that cheese is high in fat and calories.

Some health professionals recommend avoiding foods high in saturated fats and switching from full-fat to low-fat or fat-free to improve or maintain health. On the other hand, some may say that full-fat products are fine, but use smaller portions since these low-fat or fat-free products are added with starch or other ingredients to make them match the taste of full-fat products. The bottom line is that, if you have a heart condition, or high cholesterol or are concerned about your health, please seek professional advice on whether the full-fat product is right for you.