Bacon and Spinach with egg sauce pasta  

/ Haruka Sugiyama

Description: Not carbonara, but pasta with a carbonara-like sauce. No cream but a nice eggy creamy sauce. If you are a fan of raw/half cooked eggs, this pasta dish is one of the nicest ones if you have fresh eggs. 
Serves: 2
Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients 

  • Spaghetti – 160g
  • Spinach – 160g
  • Bacon – chopped into small pieces, 40g or 2 rashers
  • Garlic – pureed, 2 cloves
  • Ground black Pepper – 2 dashes
  • Soy sauce – 1 teaspoon or ½ tablespoon
  • Egg – 2 medium

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 over medium heat, then add the bacon and fry. Put them aside once cooked.
3. Add the spinach to the pan and cook briefly. 
4. Add the hot drained pasta and bacon back to the pan and mix well. 
5. Remove the pan from the heat and wait for 1 minute to cool down. While waiting, beat the egg in a small bowl and add the soy sauce to the egg mix.
6. Add the egg mix to the pan and mix well quickly. Make sure the pan is not too hot; otherwise, the egg will become scrambled eggs.
To serve: ground black pepper.

Nutritional values per serving 

KcalProteinFatCarbsFibreSugarsSaltSaturated FatVitamin A RAEFolateVitamin
E
430.221.8g10.7g63.0g4.7g2.0g1.2g3.1g445.6μg176.4μg2.1mg
21.5%43.7%15.3%24.2%15.8%2.2%19.7%15.7%74.3%88.2%69.6%
*These values are approximate and based on the value from ingredients prepared before cooking (Food Data Central, previous USDA). Percent daily values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may vary depending on your calorie needs. Calcium, Potassium and zinc are over 10%, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin B6 and B12 are over 20%, Iron is over 30%, Vitamin B3 is over 40%, Vitamin C is over 50%, Vitamin B2 is over 60%, Vitamin B1 and Vitamin D are over 100% of an adult’s daily reference intake. Your daily values may vary depending on your calorie needs. However, some vitamins may be lost while cooking. RAE=Retinol Activity Equivalents 

Nutritional Tips

Spinach contains oxalic acid, which makes it harder to absorb iron. Additionally, green tea also prevents iron absorption. Ascorbic acids (e.g. lemon) would enhance the absorption of inorganic iron. If you are not a vegetarian/vegan, then spinach is still a good source of iron. However, it would be good to note these cautions to maximise intake and nutrition absorption. You could consider having other types of drinks besides green tea or adding some lemon with the spinach to help with iron absorption.

I believe this is one of the best recipes using a runny egg. However, please make sure that the egg is as fresh as possible and disinfected during production, etc. Avoid eating raw or runny if you are in a vulnerable group (e/g, elderly, weakened immune system or pregnant women).

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