Mushroom Spaghetti Carbonara
- Israel Rivera
- Apr 10, 2023
- 5 min read
A step by step guide to making my modern version of this Roman classic!
Carbonara is one of the most iconic traditional Roman Italian pasta dishes. Over the years, its recipe and ingredients have been debated, but there is only one real carbonara, and it's prepared with eggs, pecorino romano, guanciale and pepper. Cream is strictly forbidden, yes you read that right, so if you're eating carbonara with cream it's not the real carbonara but a knock off. The recipe itself has taken some modern turns and twists throughout the years and the rules have even been relaxed to a certain degree. Yes, even in Rome itself. However, the changes made have been very subtle at most like adding a little parmigiano to the cheese mixture to mellow out the flavor a touch or using egg yolks instead of the whole eggs to make it darker and richer to the most common that is substituting the guanciale for pancetta in places where guanciale is hard to find or even simply substituting it with a vegetable if you're a vegetarian although I'm sure this one took the longest to accept. This recipe is indeed a modern version of the traditional one with a couple of twists. First, I did use the method of adding a little parmigiano regiano to the cheese mixture because I love how it rounds out and mellows out the dish and I also substituted the guanciale for cremini mushrooms to make it a vegetarian dish that everyone can enjoy. Before anyone absolutely loses their mind with my ingredients list let me explain. Most of the time a vegetable is used in place of guanciale, it's tradition to simply replace the meat but keep the recipe identical. The problem with this train of thought is that you completely lose the essence, aroma and flavors of the guanciale which is one of the quintessential ingredients, so I wanted to replace the guanciale without losing any of the characteristics that it brings to the dish. From the salty meaty texture and flavor to the aromatics from the seasoning of the guanciale to the delicious aromatic fat that rounds out the dish. So, I decided to incorporate the same aromatics that are in guanciale into my dish along with a vegetable fat that can absorb these and distribute them throughout the dish.
OK so before anyone loses it over the ingredients I have chosen, let me explain why I decided to use them. I chose to use extra virgin olive oil to emulate the guanciale fat and the rosemary, thyme and garlic to emulate the guanciale's aromatics in order to recreate the flavor profiles of the guanciale itself. Now while to most it may seem sacrilegious and you may think that I am turning this into an aglio olio, I promise I'm not! While I am using herbs and garlic, they will not be in the actual dish they are simply used to infuse the flavors but they will be removed entirely from the dish itself. I know it still doesn't make it any less offensive but you just have to trust me on this one because it works absolutely beautifully.
List of Ingredients
400g Bronze Die Cut Spaghetti
5 eggs
1/4 Cup of grated pecorino romano cheese
2tbsp of grated parmigiano regiano cheese
8oz Cremini (Baby Bella) Mushrooms Sliced
1 Sprig of Rosemary whole
2 Sprigs of Thyme whole
2 cloves of garlic smashed
1/4 Cup of extra virgin olive oil
Let’s Get Started
Step 1: Prep your ingredients (mise en place)
I know what you're thinking, how dare he introduce a French term in the first step of an Italian dish! Hear me out though because the first step to making the perfect dish every time is to take the time to treat each ingredient with the respect it deserves by prepping them properly. Whether it's washing and cutting your fresh produce, measuring out your wet or dry ingredients to cleaning and organizing your workspace thoroughly prior to starting any cooking. This is what is referred to as mise en place in the culinary world. You will notice that in every one of my ingredients list I will detail how each ingredient should be prepped so when we begin to cook it's a simple matter of following the cooking steps and not going back and forth cutting and preparing vegetables. So, this is the exact time when you should be slicing your mushrooms, grating your cheese's, setting up your rosemary, thyme and smashing your garlic. Ensure that you clean and organize thoroughly to avoid getting overwhelmed once you start the cooking process.
Step 2: Prep your cooking station
The second step is to prepare your cooking station by preheating your oven and organizing and preheating your pots and pans. In this specific recipe you should be getting a pot of
salted water boiling for the spaghetti and preheating a Saucier, Sauté or Casserole pan on medium heat to cook the mushrooms and finish your sauce.
Step 3: Cook the pasta
Place the spaghetti into the boiling water and cook until aldente, approximately two minutes before the time that it says on the package.
Step 4: Prepare your cheese mixture
While your pasta is cooking combine the cheese and the eggs in a bowl well until they are homogonous and form a paste and set aside.
Step 5: Sauté the mushrooms
Place the extra virgin olive oil in the hot pan and add the whole sprigs of rosemary and thyme along with the smashed garlic until it's all fragrant. Now add the mushrooms and sauté for about 5 minutes until they have caramelized nicely. Season thoroughly with salt and coarse black pepper. Remove the herbs and garlic as they have done their job and infused the mushrooms and oil with their beautiful fragrance much like they infuse the guanciale. So what you should have left is a beautiful pot of crispy mushrooms and oil. The mushrooms and oil should be infused with the same flavor profile of guanciale. Remove about half of the mushrooms to use as a garnish on top of the pasta but ensure to leave the oil in the pan. This oil is now infused with the flavors of the mushrooms, herbs and garlic which will emulate the guanciale fat in this recipe.
Step 6: Add the pasta to the sauté pan
Once your pasta is aldente, tranfer it immediately into the hot pan with the remaining mushrooms and oil and toss thoroughly to combine well. Turn the heat off, make sure your burner is shut off completely before proceeding to the next step.
Step 7: Create the mantecatura
Add a couple of tablespoons of pasta water to the egg and cheese mixture to temper the eggs and create a creamy consistency. Pour the entire mixture on the pasta and toss vigorously to create a nice creamy sauce. Add more pasta water if its not creamy enough while tossing vigorously to avoid the eggs scrambling on you. You should now have a creamy pasta carbonara. Serve immediately topping with the mushrooms we set aside earlier, freshly grated pecorino romano cheese and fresh cracked black pepper. Buon Appetito!
Notes
The eggs will indeed be cooked and safe to consume because they are actually coming up to temperature the same way they would if you were cooking them in a double broiler. You can also place the bowl over the hot pasta water to create a double broiler and whip the egg mixture like you would a sabayon and thoroughly cook the eggs prior to mixing with the pasta if you are uneasy with placing them straight into the pasta. Feel free to simply use one cheese if you don't have both, preferably the pecorino romano. You should now have a delicious, rich and creamy carbonara that reminds you of the authentic one made with guanciale.
Comentarios