Pasta Carbonara is a delicious meal, but is often overlooked by vegetarians since it generally contains pancetta or bacon. Also, it contains raw eggs, which can cause salmonella fear.
Not to worry! Simply replace the meat with mushrooms, and use pasteurized eggs to avoid any salmonella. Pasteurized eggs can be difficult to find, but it’s quite easy to pasteurize eggs yourself. Instructions follow Mushroom Carbonara recipe.
NOTE: As Queen of Freeze, I would be remiss in my duties if I failed to remind you (some might say, ‘nag’) to freeze the unused egg whites for future use.
MUSHROOM CARBONARA – makes about 11 cups
- 1 lb orecchiette pasta (or whatever pasta you prefer)
- 3 T olive oil
- 1½ lbs common white mushrooms, chopped into quarters
- 1/2 lb fresh shiitake mushrooms, chopped into quarters
- 2/3 cup chopped shallots (about 2 large)
- 1 T pressed garlic (about 10 cloves, depending on size)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 5 yolks, pasteurized
- 1 whole egg, pasteurized
- 1 – 1½ tsp ground black pepper, depending on preference
- 4 oz Pecorino-Romano, grated
- 2/3 cup Italian parsley, chopped
In a Dutch oven, bring 4 quarts of water and 2 T kosher salt to a full boil. Cook the pasta until it’s almost done – about 2 minutes less than package calls for (it will continue to soften). Place a bowl under a sieve and drain pasta, making sure to capture 2 cups of pasta water. (Pasta water is a great thickener.) Set this water aside – you’ll need it later.
Into the now empty Dutch oven place the olive oil and mushrooms. Over medium heat, briefly stir the mushrooms to cover with the oil. Then continue to cook, uncovered, WITHOUT further stirring for 5 minutes in order to draw out the liquid. 
After 5 minutes, begin stirring now and then until liquid has evaporated and mushrooms have browned – about 5 minutes. 
Add in shallots and garlic, cooking another few minutes – just before shallots begin to brown. 
Stir in the 1 tsp kosher salt, cooked pasta, and 1 cup of the reserved pasta water. Remove pot from heat source and let cool about 5 minutes.
Separate the yolks from 5 of the eggs and beat these yolks together with the whole egg. As you’re beating the eggs, slowly drizzle in 1/2 cup of the pasta water, stirring constantly – this will temper the eggs. 
Then slowly pour the eggs into the pasta mixture, stirring constantly. 
Stir in the pepper, Pecorino-Romano, and the parsley. 
Turn burner to very low and continue to stir in order to heat pasta for serving, taking care not to scramble the eggs. If mixture is too thick for your liking, loosen it up with remaining pasta water.
Buon appetito!!!
PASTEURIZING EGGS
Note: I’ve watched many videos and read many sites about pasteurizing eggs. Plus, I’ve done it myself with no ill effects. HOWEVER, you should do your own research, just to be sure.
About 20 minutes before beginning, remove eggs from refrigerator to bring them to room temperature.
Have a bowl of ice water ready.
Place room temperature eggs (still in their shells) in a saucepan and cover with about 1″ of water.
Heat saucepan until water reaches 140º Fahrenheit. Maintain 140º for 3 minutes for large eggs and 5 minutes for extra large eggs. (You’ll probably have to turn off burner all-together to maintain the temperature.) 
Remove pan from heat source and immediately remove eggs to the ice bath for about 5 minutes. This will stop the cooking process.
Remove eggs from ice water and refrigerate until needed. Make sure you mark them somehow so they don’t get confused with unpasteurized eggs.
You may notice the whites have become slightly cloudy – this is fine. Also, beating the whites into a meringue may take longer, although I haven’t had any problem with this.
Remove from heat and stir in vinegar, mustard, and dried tomatoes. 
In a Dutch oven, bring 2 quarts of water and 1 T salt to a boil. Remove 1/2 cup of this water and stir into shallot mixture. 
To the pot of boiling water add the broccoli and cauliflower. 
When the water resumes boiling, cook veggies 1 minute only, just to blanch them, then scoop them out and add to the shallot mixture (which is still off-heat).
Add the pasta and lemon zest to the boiling water, cooking until the pasta is done. 
Save a cup of the pasta water in case you need it, then drain pasta. Into the empty Dutch oven combine the shallot mixture and pasta.
Adjust seasoning, if needed. Add saved pasta water if you feel it needs to be looser.
Chop leaves with knife, then place in food processor and pulse until leaves are very finely chopped. 
Add egg and oil, and pulse a few times to blend. 
Pasta making is all about having the right ratio of liquid to dry ingredients. The spinach, egg, and oil are the wet, and the flour is the dry. You’ll have to go by feel since the water in the spinach and the size of the egg are variable. Don’t worry, there’s wiggle room!
When dough reaches the proper consistency, form 2 balls and place them back in food processor with lid to rest for about 1/2 hour or so. 
Attach pasta machine to a table or countertop with plenty of room to lay out dough. You’ll also need something to hang the dry pasta over, such as a dowel. Pour about 1/4 cup of flour on the work surface. Work as quickly as you can so the dough doesn’t dry out.
Brush off extra flour the run dough through machine at the lowest number setting (this will be either ‘0’ or ‘1’). Fold dough like an envelope and run it through again. 
Lay dough flat and rub a little flour over both sides of dough. 
Fold in half and run it through machine at same setting. Repeat this last step 3 more times. You will have run the dough 6 times through the machine on the lowest setting. Repeat with second dough ball.
Run these pieces through the cutter before doing the other strip, so the cut edges don’t dry out.
For some reason, Macaroni & Cheese is perceived as a bland, children’s food. (Don’t even get me started on the boxed version!)
Pulse about 7 times to get small pieces.
Pour into bowl and add in 1/2 oz (1/2 cup) Parmesan, 1 tsp salt, and black pepper. (It’s easiest to mix with fingers.) Set aside. 
Into a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a full boil. Add in 1 rounded T salt and the penne. Stir immediately to prevent sticking, then stir every now and then, until al dente. (Don’t overcook – pasta will continue to soften when the cheeses and sauce are added.)
In a saucepan melt the butter over low heat. Turn off heat and mix in the flour, making sure you smoosh any lumps – this is your only chance to remove them. Cook 2 minutes over low heat, stirring continuously, to prevent that flour-y taste. 
Add in the cream and remaining 1 tsp salt. Increase the heat slightly to medium/low and stir until thickened. 
By now, the pasta should be cooked. Drain in colander, but don’t shake strainer. Immediately pour hot pasta over cheeses in bowl. 
Pour hot sauce on top. (Don’t stir yet.) Cover – I use a cookie sheet. Let set for 3 minutes to melt the cheeses. Remove cover and stir everything together. 
Pour into a casserole dish and sprinkle on breadcrumbs. 
Bake at 500º F for about 7 minutes, until breadcrumbs are browned. 
Sprinkle on a little chopped parsley, if desired. Can be served immediately.
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