Luxuriously creamy with a spicy kick to it thanks to our good friend ‘nduja, a spicy Calabrian salami paste. This sauce is kind of like a carbonara, with the creaminess coming from egg yolks and pecorino Romano. It’s kind of magic! Trust in the power of pasta water and you’ll be slurping delicately coated, creamy strands of pasta in no time. 

For two people 

Ingredients 

• 250g pasta of choice 
• 4 egg yolks 
• 100g pecorino Romano, finely grated 
• EVOO
• 25g ‘nduja paste 
• 1 tablespoon tomato purée 
• Extra pecorino Romano to serve 

Method 

Bring a large pot of water to boil, salt generously and cook pasta per instructions. 

Meanwhile, whisk the yolks and pecorino Romano together in a bowl to create a paste and set aside. 

In a large frying pan, heat a splash of EVOO and add the ‘nduja. Once it starts to break down and sizzle, add the tomato paste. Cook gently for a couple of minutes then add a splash of the pasta water to deglaze the pan. 

When the pasta is al dente, drain (reserving the pasta water) and add directly to the ‘nduja, along with another generous splash of water - allow it to continue cooking for another minute or so. 

Add roughly a 1/4 cup of pasta water to the egg yolks and stir vigorously to combine - it will be quite liquid. Take the frying pan with the pasta off the heat, pour the egg mix in and stir continuously to create a creamy sauce. The residual heat of the pan will cook the eggs and thicken the sauce. If it’s too thick, add more pasta water. If it’s too thin, pop the pan back on a low heat and let it cook for a minute longer while stirring until it thickens. 

Divide between two bowls and serve with extra pecorino Romano. 

This recipe was created by Gabriella from @_noregrettispaghetti, check out Gabriella's instagram page here or website here. 

Gabriella is a Londoner born to Armenian/Canadian parents, with a love of all things Italian, especially pasta. She fell in love with food between the pages of her mum’s Reader’s Digest cookbooks, and at the table of her grandmother’s Cypriot kitchen, watching dolma be rolled and lahmajun made. 

When she’s not making her favourite carb, she can be found sharing some of her recipes on her blog, drinking far too much coffee, or hanging out with her dog, Gordon.