What’s better than traditional spaghetti carbonara? Spaghetti carbonara with locally sourced mushrooms and bacon. Decadent and savory, this dish has a cream-based sauce, cheese galore, and fun bites of crispy bacon and earthy mushrooms. Your plate of homemade love and local ingredients will be nothing short of rich and delicious.
This recipe comes from our local partner, Crown Mushrooms, a local mushroom farm based in Berthoud, Colorado, growing mushrooms using cutting-edge technology. Their mushrooms have a quality taste and are packed with vitamins and minerals.
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Ingredients
- 4-5 tbsp. of olive oil
- 1 lb. Crown Mushrooms oyster mushrooms
- 6-7 strips of Tender Belly bacon
- 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp. cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 5 large cloves of garlic
- 1/2 onion finely chopped
- 1 cup of white wine
- 1 lb. of Rao’s spaghetti
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup of freshly-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 1/2 cup of freshly-grated Pecorino-Romano cheese
- 1/2 cup of fresh flat-leaf parsley coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup of fresh chives finely chopped
Directions
- Step 1
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti until al dente (one to two minutes less than package directions). Drain and set aside. Reserve 1/2 cup of the hot pasta water.
- Step 2
- Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry in large skillet until medium crisp. Drain and set aside. Return the hot bacon grease to the skillet. Add olive oil to bacon grease and mix well.
- Step 3
- Add onions to skillet and saute over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until the onions start to soften.
- Step 4
- Trim any tough ends from the oyster stems and shred the mushrooms by hand into bite sized pieces. Add the mushrooms, garlic, paprika, and cumin to the pan and continue to saute another 4-5 minutes until the mushrooms have lightly browned. Stir to prevent the garlic from burning.
- Step 5
- Add the wine. Reduce heat to low and cook for another 2 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed, stirring often. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Remove from heat.
- Step 6
- In a medium mixing bowl beat the egg yolks, heavy cream, and each cheese together. Be sure to mix well. Very gradually, while still mixing, whisk in the hot pasta water that had been set aside until sauce is creamy.
- Step 7
- Immediately combine all the ingredients in the large skillet with the mushrooms. Mix well to coat all the pasta. Add the fresh herbs and toss until all ingredients have become distributed evenly.
- Step 8
- Serve with light sprinkle of additional grated cheeses and fresh herbs as needed.
- NOTE
- A tiny pinch of nutmeg on the top of each serving adds a nice dimension to this excellent and satisfying dish. Consider also putting a slender drizzle of true maple syrup around the plate.
