The humble carbonara is Italian cooking at its best, super-simple, thrifty and ultimately satisfying. Parmigiano Reggiano invited me to film a dish of my own with the magnificent TV chef Gennaro Contaldo. I decided to cook a bean carbonara knowing that this creamy legume would take well to the simple technique used to make carbonara. For the full video of Gennaro and I cooking, please scroll to the bottom. 

I love pasta but beans are better, better for the environment (I’ll explain in a minute), better nutritionally and better tasting! Well that’s subjective but they definitely have more flavour.  Especially when mixed with this velvety carbonara sauce made from just three ingredients; Parmigiano Reggiano, guanciale or bacon and a whole egg.

Beans are a key conventional crop that are going to help our food system thrive in the face of climate change. Every culture has their favourite bean. Beans are a bargain even when they’re organic. And they’re economical for a farmer to grow. 

Beans are hardy and need little water or planet-harming pesticides to grow well. They are also nitrogen fixing, which means they capture nitrogen from the air and fix it into the soil, improving soil fertility, providing nutrients for the next crop to grow. This reduces the need for synthetic fertilisers that can be harmful to the environment. 

To create a wonderful creamy carbonara sauce, remove the pan from the heat for a few minutes to allow the temperature of the beans to drop a touch. This way you’ll avoid the eggs from scrambling.

I like to serve this dish with bitter leaves like radicchio and chicory and tomatoes, dressed with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and nuggets of Parmigiano Reggiano.