Farfalle with carbonara and peas

Do you get excited when you find new foods at a deli that grab your attention?  And like me, do you feel compelled to buy those things (even if you don't really need them) just to see what they are like?

I recently went on a trip to Mediterranean Wholesalers with my friend Elissa and her partner, and I came across so many new things that I would have needed a truck to get them all home.  So instead, I exercised a little self-restraint, and mostly only bought things I knew that I needed.  However, I couldn't resist picking up a packet of this stripy farfalle:  

Here are the beautiful bow ties in all their glory before cooking:

The glorious colours come from blueberries, tomatoes and other natural sources.

Armed with such gorgeous pasta, I needed a recipe to show it off.  A quick search led me to this Jamie Oliver recipe for Farfalle with Carbonara and Peas.  (I actually found it in my copy of Jamie's Dinners.)  It is such a quick and simple, yet flavoursome dish.  As the name suggests, it contains peas (I used frozen), streaky bacon and cream sauce for bow tie pasta.

This was one of the lightest, most delicious pasta dishes I have tried so far.  It was so good that, even after reheating, I was proud to serve it to my friend Ashley as an impromptu dinner.  I highly recommend giving it a go if you at all like pasta.