Mushroom Carbonara
Crispy cremini, egg yolk, pecorino and pepper.
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The mushrooms have to get HARD-crisp to stand in for guanciale - that means a hot pan, no crowding, and 3 minutes of leaving them alone before stirring. If you pile them up and stir constantly they'll steam into sad gray slop. Cook in batches if your pan is small.
Ingredients
Everything below makes 4 servings.
- 1 lbspaghetti
- 12 ozcremini mushroomstrimmed, sliced 1/4-inch thick
- 5large egg yolks
- 1large whole egg
- 1 cuppecorino romanovery finely grated
- 3 tbspextra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbspunsalted butter
- 2garlic clovesminced
- 1 tspfresh thymeleaves stripped
- 2 tspblack peppercornsfreshly cracked, coarse
- 1 tspkosher saltfor pasta water (less than usual - pecorino is salty)
In the app these rescale to however many people you're feeding.
Nutrition
Per serving, as written.
- 760calories
- 28gprotein
- 82gcarbs
- 34gfat
Swaps move these numbers. A different protein or base changes them.
Instructions
Knife work first, then the stove. Nothing below asks you to chop while something burns.
- Bring a large pot of LIGHTLY salted water to a boil for the pasta.
- Trim mushrooms and slice 1/4-inch thick - keep slices uniform so they crisp evenly.
- Separate 5 egg yolks; whisk yolks and 1 whole egg and grated pecorino and cracked pepper in a bowl into a thick paste.
- Mince 2 garlic cloves; strip thyme leaves.
Crisp mushrooms
Heat olive oil in the skillet over medium-high until shimmering. Add mushrooms in a single layer - don't crowd, cook in 2 batches if needed. Don't stir for 3 min so they brown hard. Stir and cook 4-5 min more until deeply golden and crispy at the edges. Salt lightly.
8 min · hands onFinish mushrooms
Reduce heat to medium. Push mushrooms to one side; add butter and garlic and thyme and 1 tbsp olive oil to the cleared space. Cook 30 sec until garlic is fragrant. Toss everything together. Off heat.
1 min · hands onBoil pasta
Drop spaghetti into the boiling water and cook 1 min less than package. Reserve 1.5 cups pasta water before draining.
9 min · hands onMarry
Use tongs to transfer drained spaghetti into the mushroom skillet. Toss 30 sec to coat. Add 1/4 cup pasta water and toss again.
1 min · hands onTemper and emulsify
OFF HEAT - pan should not be sizzling. Slowly pour the egg-cheese mixture over the pasta while tossing constantly with tongs. Add hot pasta water 1 tbsp at a time as you toss - you want a glossy, silken sauce, not scrambled eggs. Residual heat cooks the yolks just enough. Keep tossing 60 sec until creamy.
2 min · hands onPlate
Plate immediately. Top with extra pecorino and a heavy crack of black pepper. Eat right now.
1 min · hands onMake it yours
Every swap here is one Maui already knows how to make, including what it does to the timing.
Use 6 oz each - shiitake adds deeper umami, cremini brings the body.
Slice into 1/4-inch coins - meatier texture, more like guanciale lardons.
Dress arugula with lemon and olive oil while pasta boils. Adds about 5 minutes.
Softer, less sharp - common variation.
What keeps
Eat immediately - same as classic carbonara. The yolk emulsion breaks on reheat.
Mushrooms can be crisped 1 day ahead and stored at room temp.
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