• It makes a change to have pasta without sauce. This peasantstyle spaghetti dish uses olive oil as the lubricant. Crispy bacon bits, broad beans and breadcrumbs work well with the strings of pasta.

    TO DRINK: Go for Bouchard Finlayson Missionvale Chardonnay, an elegant wine with a lingering aftertaste.

    Spaghetti with broad beans, bacon, breadcrumbs and parmesan

    Serves: 4
    Cooking Time: 40 mins

    Ingredients

    • slices thick white bread, crusts removed
    • 500g spaghetti
    • a large knob of butter
    • 30ml (2 tbsp) olive oil, plus extra for moistening
    • 250g streaky bacon
    • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
    • 100g broad beans
    • 60ml (¼ cup) fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
    • shaved Parmesan, to serve

    Instructions

    1

    In a food processor, process the bread to form rough crumbs and set aside.

    2

    Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water until al dente.

    3

    In the meantime, melt the butter and olive oil in a frying pan and sauté the bacon until golden and crispy. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon from the pan and set aside on paper towel.

    4

    Add a bit more butter to the bacon fat in the pan, and fry the breadcrumbs and garlic until the crumbs are golden and crispy.

    5

    In a separate pot, blanch the broad beans and shell. Set aside.

    6

    Drain the pasta and toss it with the crumbs, bacon and beans. Add the parsley and a slug of olive oil. Serve immediately topped with Parmesan shavings.