Aaron -9 Chelsea 0; Bularia 516 - UK 1; Rigatoni 1 Spaghetti 1
What a simply splendid weekend!
Well done to the brilliant Aaron Rai, who finished at 9-under; the first player from England with his name on the Wanamaker Trophy since Jim Barnes in 1919. Then another well done to Antoine Semenyo, who’s gone from Bournemouth player to FA Cup final hero for Manchester City after scoring the winner at Wembley. I came close with my 90-minute draw, but it was such a tight game that it never looked like a goal-fest.
Also bad luck for Max Verstappen, who came so close to winning the Nürburgring 24-hour race but had a serious technical problem only three and a half hours from the finish. And of course, the magnificent Darina Nikolaeva Yotova, aka Dara, whose magnificent bosom and her Bangaranga song swept all before it in Vienna.
Of course, there were plenty of Losers, but I was struck again, on a Saturday afternoon, by just how many involved complaints about VAR. FHS, how difficult can it be? The referee says “No,” or he says “Sí.” End of. Don’t like it? Off. Argues with the ref in a manner prejudicial to the good order of the game? Five-match ban. Either get tough or get rid of it.
Tragically, my greatest concern - and this may yet cause me an emotional crisis - Andy Burnham sort of agrees with me!
The other losers were mostly anyone representing the UK in Eurovision - plus ca change - but the easiest 9/2 anyone has ever offered - UK to come last! Anyway, before we got to the easy money, and out of the blue, we were invited by Chums to share a Chinese takeaway and watch the Eurovision Song Contest. The Aldbourne Kitchen provided… delish. Hosts provided limitless Majestic, and inevitably, Eurovision being what it is, and jolly people being what they are, and having put the box on pause so that we could eat, it turned out to be what might be considered by Gen Z v2.0 to be a late night.
There was more racing on Sunday, which I hadn’t really been expecting, and then a chum came round to advise on the garden and then someone else came to be advised, and then I was told to make a spot of lunch.
Even at the risk of blowing my own trumpet, which I am loath to do, I have to tell you that my simple carbonara was on this occasion a total triumph, not least because I had forgotten that I had in the fridge some Samphire from last weekend. Astonishingly, it was still crisp, so I chucked it into the last minute of the pasta cooking, drained the whole lot, and then added the sauce to the pasta. Samphire in with your pasta was a revelation.
The sauce was essentially a lot of EVOO (Greek, I think, and slightly peppery, which I like), a large onion, diced, some fresh oregano, and two packs of diced, unsmoked supermarket pancetta. Some garlic and not too high a heat. It’s a sauce, as Nanny used to say, not a Chinese Laundry. Lots of ground pepper and a smidge of salt - depending on the actual meat. For the pasta, I used fresh egg Rigatoni, which I prefer to spaghetti, only because I think the ridges hold the oil and cheese better, and also because if I have any left over, it is easily converted to an al forno dish, as the Rigatoni will keep its shape and bite.
I know there are plenty of purists who will say, “Oh, you can’t use that, and you can’t do it that way, and this is the way that carbonara is meant to be.” But, as it was a dish that was invented only a decade before my birth, I think we’re all entitled to give it whatever twists and turns we like, provided we’re all heading in the general direction of the joy of breaking bread with chums.
Yes, in a perfect world, we could, of course, use Guanciale, cured pig’s cheek, but very rarely can you get it in your local supermarket. However, you can buy a kilo from Amazon for about £30 a kilo, and it is worth it. I have incidentally used Alsacienne Bacon or Pancetta before, and it is a stunning meat. Free-range pigs on a diet of wild herbs and grass produce belly with good fat cover, clean flavour, and a good, tight structure that holds up the curing and smoking process without becoming either too dry or overly salty. Smoky, firm, and well-balanced, you use it in exactly the same way. Dice it into lardons for pasta sauces, fry it with onions and garlic as the base for stews and braises, roast it alongside vegetables, or crisp it and crumble it over anything that needs a hit of smoky, salty pork. I often have some in my homemade Cassoulet. And—it works particularly well in carbonara if you find Italian guanciale too fatty—the firmer texture and bolder smoke give a different but equally satisfying result. Sadly, I cannot find anyone who imports for less than £50 a kilo, so just get a mate to bring some back in the car.
Anyway, as it was, I used the cheap and tatty pancetta, the olive oil, garlic, onion, and fresh parmesan, all working perfectly, and then - just before serving - one raw egg per person, whisked up and poured into the mix - OFF THE HEAT - and stir. Some people throw in some grated parmesan now - I leave that up to people to do themselves. Others use cream instead of egg - Okee dokey - but you need a lot more pepper and garlic.
Anyway, it was so good that I’m actually going to share the recipe with you and hope you do something similar yourself…. Oh, I have already… OK, here’s a picture:
