Eat Bike Cook brings together 40 easy recipes created to meet the energy demands of cyclists, with tips, hacks and food diaries from women cyclists, both professionals and enthusiastic amateurs. With stunning food photography and illustrations by Kitty Pemberton-Platt, whose drawings have lit up Instagram with their honest visualisation of what female cyclists really eat.  

Recipe taken from Eat Bike Cook: Food Stories and Recipes from Female Cyclists
By Kitty Pemberton-Platt with Fi Buchanan
Published by Kitchen Press

Carbonara – Serves 2  

There is no cream in a classic carbonara but its addition is merited by any cycling cook looking to add ultra-richness to this delicious comfort food.   

Ingredients  

• 150g pancetta or smoked streaky bacon, chopped into chunky strips 
• 200g dry spaghetti 
• 2 large free-range eggs plus 1 yolk
• 40g Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese, freshly grated, plus extra to serve 
• 50ml double cream (optional) 
• freshly ground black pepper 
• salt 
• small handful of parsley, chopped (optional)  

Directions

Place a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the pancetta or bacon. As it slowly cooks the fat will render and give you the first part of the carbonara sauce. 

Put a large pan of salted water on to boil and cook the spaghetti to al dente according to the instructions on the packet. 

While the spaghetti is cooking, break the eggs into a large bowl, add the yolk, the grated cheese and the double cream, if using, and whisk together with generous quantities of black pepper. Set aside. 

Magically, everything should be ready at the same time. When the pancetta or bacon is brown and the fat has rendered, the pasta should be ready. Turn off the heat under the bacon pan. 

Turn off the heat under the pasta and tong it out of the cooking water into the pan with the browned pancetta or bacon (you want the residual water to cool the pan down a bit). Use the tongs to mix the pasta with the bacon. There should be no sizzling now. Add the egg and cheese mixture and stir it gently into the pasta, ensuring the long strands are coated with the sauce. Finally, season with more black pepper, sprinkle with the parsley, if using, and serve immediately. 

Eat Bike Cook: Food Stories and Recipes from Female Cyclists by Kitty Pemberton-Platt with Fi Buchanan is published by Kitchen Press, priced £10.00.