Vegetarian Carbonara with Mushrooms and Asparagus

Creamy rich yet simple Spaghetti Carbonara made vegetarian with some spring vegetables – mushrooms and asparagus. An easy to whip up paste recipe for a weekday dinner!

Did you happen to read about the controversy that a French video recipe for a carbonara created?! I had just made this version of carbonara the previous day and as I was reading about this, all I could think was – I hope no Italian food connoisseur takes offence on my version of the Italians’ beloved Carbonara.

So this whole controversy was about this video showing a recipe for carbonara and that they used farfalle pasta instead of spaghetti, which is what is traditionally used for making a carbonara ( sometimes rigatoni is substituted for spaghetti) and that they made it a one pot pasta dish and cooked the pancetta with the paste, essentially “boiling” it. Also the video used crème fraiche as the creaming agent and an egg yolk added on top of the pasta. In an original carbonara it is the egg-cheese mixture added to the warm pasta that creates the creamy texture that coats the noodles.

I was intrigued by this controversy and researched a little more about making a carbonara. But of course, I had already made my version then but it is always fun to read what the purists have to say about this. It looks like within the purist carbonara faction there are several believers of whole egg or egg yolk or combination of both, parmesan, pecorino or a combination of both, to add cream or not etc. As for any recipe, there is no single right way of cooking it, but there are certain steps which are unique for this dish which makes it what it is and from what I understood, what makes the carbonara a carbonara is the egg and cheese creating that creamy lusciousness when it comes in contact with the warm pasta and that is a very delicate step to avoid ending up with scrambled eggs. Crisping up the pork fat just enough is also a major step in the making of a carbonara.

But in this vegetarian version, we are of course completely skipping the pork fat. Whether that makes this pasta not a carbonara is up to you I definitely do not wish to offend anyone!

Vegetarian Carbonara with Mushrooms and Asparagus – The Recipe

Ingredients:

• ½ box spaghetti
• Water, enough to cook the spaghetti in
• salt, to taste
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1 cup sliced shitake mushrooms
• 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 inch long pieces
• crushed black pepper, to taste
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
• ½ cup grated pecorino romano
• 1 tsp. fresh crushed black pepper
• ¼ cup whole milk

Method:

Bring the water to a rolling boil and add salt to it. Add the spaghetti and cook it al dente. Reserve 2 cups of pasta water and drain the rest.

In a sauté pan, melt the butter and add the mushrooms and asparagus to it. Add some salt and some fresh crushed black pepper. Sauté till the vegetables are soft.

Beat the eggs in a bowl and add the cheese, black pepper and milk to it. Mix well and keep aside.

Add the pasta to the vegetables and about 1 cup of the pasta water and let it all mix well. Switch off the heat and add the eggs-cheese mixture to the paste. Toss it around well to get a creamy luscious coat on the pasta.

Serve immediately. Can be garnished with a little more of pecorino or parmesan on top and a crack of black pepper.

And yes, this is the 15th of the month and we have the Foodie Mamas bringing you all things yummy with Mushrooms. This Vegetarian Carbonara with Mushrooms and Asparagus is my contribution to that.

Miso Mushroom Ramen from Lucy of Turnip The Oven

One Pot Pepperoni Mushroom Pizza Pasta from Chrissie of The Busy Baker

Mushroom Fried Rice from Deepika of Easy Baby Meals

Balsamic Marinated Baked Portobello Mushrooms by Sara of Life’s Little Sweets

Mushroom Bruschetta by Kaitie of Fuchsia Freezer

Chorizo and Manchego Stuffed Mushrooms from Ali of Home and Plate

Easy Chicken Marsala by Amanda of The Chunky Chef

Vegan Mushroom Risotto by Emily of The Best of This Life