Classic Carbonara
When you hear the word carbonara classic you'd be forgiven for thinking about bacon lardons. Well our plant-based Classic Carbonara recreates the original with mushrooms as the star, and a sauce made of beautiful silken tofu, miso paste and Nooch. If you've been craving a carbonara for a while and were unsure how to proceed... this is the only recipe you'll ever need.
Serves
Ingredients
For the mushroom bacon marinade
<item-todo-done>4 tbsp olive oil<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>2 tbsp maple syrup<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>2 tbsp tamari<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tsp smoked paprika<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>½ tsp garlic powder<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tsp liquid smoke<item-todo-done>
For the mushroom bacon
<item-todo-done>3 king oyster mushrooms<item-todo-done>
For the sauce
<item-todo-done>300g silken tofu<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>50g nutritional yeast<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 garlic clove (peeled)<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tsp brown rice miso paste<item-todo-done><item-todo-done> pinch of salt<item-todo-done>
For the pasta
<item-todo-done>50g plant-based butter<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>350g spaghetti<item-todo-done><item-todo-done> Salt & pepper<item-todo-done>
To serve
<item-todo-done> plant-based parmesan<item-todo-done><item-todo-done> pepper<item-todo-done>
Before you start
Food processor
Make the marinade
- Place all of the marinade ingredients into a large mixing bowl and stir well to combine.
Prepare the bacon lardons
- Slice the mushrooms lengthways into ¼ cm thick slices then into smaller pieces.
- Add all pieces to the marinade bowl.
- Toss well to coat all of the strips in the liquid and leave to marinate for at least 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, cut the mushroom bacon strips into small chunks.
Prepare the sauce
- Place all of the sauce ingredients into a powerful blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
Fry the mushroom bacon
- Place a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the plant-based butter.
- Once melted, add the mushroom chunks, mix well and cook for 5-10 minutes until soft.
- Once soft, pour in the sauce and mix well.
- Leave to simmer for 5-10 minutes while you cook the pasta.
While the mushroom cooks, cook the pasta
- Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.
- Once cooked, drain (saving a little of the pasta water) and spoon into the saucepan with the sauce.
- Mix well until all of the pasta is coated in all of the sauce, adding a dash of pasta water as needed to create the constituency you like best.
Time to serve
- Spoon equal amounts of the pasta into serving bowls and top with some plant-based parmesan and pepper.