Recipe: Spooky Carbonara with Fungi
Jackie Alpers is a Tucson, Arizona based food photographer and cookbook author. She cooks, styles and photographs food and recipes in her natural-light studio, and documents food, chefs and restaurants on location.
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Jackie Alpers
Inspired by the modern gothic visuals in the television show Wednesday, this spooky looking carbonara is made with black pasta, purple basil, and exotic mushrooms. It is elegant enough to serve at a Halloween themed adult dinner party, or as a fun and “weird” food eating challenge for both kids and more reserved adult eaters.
Black bean pasta is gluten-free and lower-carb than the optional squid ink pasta, which has a briny flavor reminiscent of the sea from which it came.
It’s important for the eggs to be at room temperature as cold eggs are more likely to scramble when added to the hot pasta. I found gourmet mushrooms from Desert Pearl Mushrooms, and the purple flowing basil at a local farmer’s market in early October; if you can’t find fresh purple basil feel free to use green for a slightly different, but still suitably ghoulish, color palette.
The Silicone Kitchen Tools Used
The Silicone Kitchen Baking Mat
The Silicone Kitchen Roasting Rack
The Silicone Kitchen Clip-On Strainer
The Silicone Kitchen 3-Piece Spatula Set
Black bean pasta, purple basil, Chestnut, Golden Oyster, Lion’s Mane and Blue Oyster mushrooms.
Ingredients
6 ounces (about 2 lightly packed cups) exotic mushrooms
olive oil spray
1½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
3 large eggs at room temperature
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces black bean or squid ink pasta
3 slices thick-cut bacon
1-ounce purple basil leaves and flowers
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Arrange the mushrooms on a half sheet pan lined with a The Silicone Kitchen baking mat. Lightly spray the mushrooms with olive oil, then sprinkle with kosher salt. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned and softened.
Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, Parmesan cheese, minced garlic and ¼ teaspoon salt until they are all well combined. Set aside but do not refrigerate.
Line a microwave safe plate with paper towels, sit a The Silicone Kitchen Roasting Rack on top with the notched-side-up. Place the bacon on the rack, then cover with another paper towel. Microwave for 5 minutes or until browned and crispy, flipping the bacon after 2½ minutes. Let cool slightly, then cut into ½-inch wide slices and set aside.
Using a large heavy bottomed braiser or Dutch oven, cook the pasta and 1 teaspoon kosher salt in boiling water, stirring frequently until al dente: about 6 minutes for black bean pasta, and 9-11 minutes for squid ink pasta. Using a The Silicone Kitchen Clip-On Strainer, remove from heat, drain but do not rinse the pasta, reserving ½ cup of pasta water.
Using a The Silicone Kitchen Spatula, stir the egg mixture into the pasta and reserved water, and mix to coat. The hot pasta will cook the eggs without scrambling them, resulting in a silky sauce. Gently toss in the bacon, most of the mushrooms and fresh basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Carbonara and fungi made with squid ink spaghetti.
To serve, use tongs to swirl the pasta onto darkly colored serving plates, then garnish with remaining mushrooms, basil leaves and flowers, and additional Parmesan cheese.
Note: to quickly remove the basil flowers from the stems, drag your thumb and index fingers downward from the tip to the base.
Deconstructed carbonara and fungi made with black bean pasta.