Recipe: Spaghetti alla Carbonara with Mushrooms and Bacon

One of my favorite pastas has to be spaghetti alla carbonara. When I saw that this month's Little Thumbs Up theme is mushrooms, it gave me the excuse to make this for lunch again. The last time I made it was June last year (wow, has it been that long ago? - recipe here) whereby I used fusilli pasta, this time I chose to use spaghetti since this is my mum's preferred pasta choice. I aim to please :D

The last time I made it, I received a few emails from readers asking if it is safe to eat since the eggs are not actually cooked and merely cooked with the heat from the pasta. I suggested using pasteurised eggs (also known as "Safe Eggs") which you can get easily in supermarkets nowadays. Another option is to use normal eggs - simply add the eggs to the bacon,mushrooms and pasta in the pan, and leave on the heat for 2-3 seconds, stirring to coat at the same time. 

This is a nice creamy pasta, and best of all it can be prepared in under 30 minutes, making it ideal for a quick lunch or dinner meal. We love it with lots of freshly grated cheese, in particular Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano.

My Spaghetti alla Carbonara with lots of bacon, mushrooms and freshly grated Grana Padano

Buon appetito!

Spaghetti alla Carbonara with Mushrooms and Bacon
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 3-4

Ingredients
250g spaghetti pasta
2 large eggs, preferably free range or pasteurised
4-5 tbsp whipping cream
100g streaky bacon, cut into small pieces
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic clove, finely chopped
125g mushroom (either button or grey/white oyster), sliced thinly
A small handful of parsley, finely chopped (or 1 tsp dried parsley)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Lots of freshly grated Grana Padano (or Parmesan)

1. In a frying pan, heat the olive oil on medium high heat and add the bacon. Fry the bacon until crispy, for about 3-4 minutes and remove from heat. Reserve the oil for cooking the mushrooms.

2. Place the mushrooms and garlic in the same frying pan and saute for 2-3 minutes until cooked. Add parsley, season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

3. Mix cream, eggs, salt and pepper in a small bowl and leave aside.

4. At the same time as cooking the bacon, cook the pasta according to packet instructions in boiling salted water. Remove from heat and place in a large bowl.

5. Add the cream and egg mixture immediately to the pasta, this should be done while pasta is still hot so that the residual heat from the pasta will cook the eggs slightly to give you a silky smooth sauce.

6. Add the bacon and mushrooms and mix well. Garnish with a sprig of Parsley and sprinkle with lots of Grana Padano/Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

(Note: If you prefer, you can also leave the bacon/mushrooms in the pan, then add the pasta in followed by the egg mixture and leave on the heat for 2-3 seconds, stirring to coat at the same time. Remove from heat and then serve. This is for those with reservations with raw egg or for those using regular eggs)

You can view the recipe for fusilli carbonara here.

*I am submitting this to this month's Little Thumb's Up "mushroom" event hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours.


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