Vegetarian Carbonara

Monday, June 8 2009

I had done my grocery shopping over the weekend and had a packet of 6 slices of portabello mushroom and 6-8 oz of organic spinach, both from Whole Foods, which I wanted use before they were no longer fresh. I had also picked up some wonderfully fragrant basil leaves from Trader Joes, as well as a pint of red, plump grape tomatoes (with about 1/4 pint left) and a bag of two bake-at-home baguettes.

Grated parmesan, olive oil, 2 eggs, 3/4 lb of angel hair pasta, sea salt, two tablespoons butter, 1/2 of a sweet or Vidalia onion, and crushed red pepper were already in the pantry and fridge at home.

While there was some bacon in the fridge with which to make a traditional carbonara dish, I wanted the family to go vegetarian for dinner, in an attempt to make up for our having eaten for two meals on the weekend.

The recipe (for 3-4 servings) I came up with is:

1. In a large skillet, preferably cast iron, heat the three tablespoons of olive oil and the two tablespoons of butter until the butter melts.

2. Add: the onion, thinly sliced, the mushrooms, the 1/4 pint of grape tomatoes (cut in half), a 1/4 tsp of sea salt. Saute over low heat.

3. When the tomatoes are little soft (but not watery, falling out of their peels), add the spinach.
Saute over the low heat. When the spinach is limp, turn the heat off.

4. Set the water boiling for the pasta. Heat the oven or toaster oven to 375 for the baguettes.

5. Meanwhile, in a large pasta serving bowl, whisk together the eggs and parmesan.

6. When the water is ready, put in the angel hair and cook for 2 min 30 sec. At the same time, put the baguettes into bake, following the directions on the bag.

7. Drain the pasta. Put the skillet back on low.

8. Stir the pasta into the veggie mixture in the skillet.

9. Pour the entire contents of the skillet into the pasta bowl with the egg and parmesan.

10. Using two utensils, toss and mix the pasta so that all the egg is cooked by its heat.

11. Garnish with basil leaves and red crushed pepper. Serve with baguette.

Dessert Suggestion: Blueberries and strawberries, with a sprinkle of brown sugar. Pretty good berries are now available at both Whole Foods and Trader Joes.