Tesco Development Chef Oliver Pedrick has shared a 20-minute secret veg carbonara recipe designed to boost nutritional value while keeping the dish family-friendly. The recipe makes two key tweaks to the classic Italian pasta dish, traditionally made with pasta, bacon, parmesan and eggs.
The first change is swapping regular spaghetti for wholewheat spaghetti, which adds fibre to help keep you fuller for longer, support gut health and reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes. The second involves adding Tesco Mediterranean-style roasting vegetables, fried first to elevate their flavour.
Pedrick recommends blitzing the cooked vegetables before stirring them into the sauce, so children are less likely to detect them. 'For kids, when they see vegetables in their food, immediately before even tasting it, they're put off by it,' he said. 'That's why this recipe is a great alternative.'
The five-ingredient recipe serves four and contains 492 calories per portion. To make it, cook wholewheat spaghetti, fry the vegetables for 8–10 minutes, then blitz with pasta water. Fry bacon until crispy, combine most of it with pasta and vegetables, then fold in beaten eggs, Parmesan and black pepper. The residual heat cooks the egg into a silky sauce.
Pedrick noted that frozen vegetables offer convenience and reduce food waste, making the recipe ideal for busy weeknights.
