Carbonara with Mushrooms and Bacon
Carbonara with mushrooms and bacon is cheesy and delicious. Comfort food on a plate using simple ingredients that deliver maximum taste.
Servings: 4
Calories: 818kcal
Equipment
- 1 Non stick fry pan (large) or saute pan or wok
- 1 Silicon flexible turner or wooden spoon
- 1 Mini Whisk or Fork to whisk the eggs
- 1 Heatproof jug to collect the pasta water
- 1 Saucepan to cook the pasta
- 1 Colander to drain the pasta
- 1 Wooden spoon to stir and combine the sauce
- 1 Grater for the parmesan cheese
- 1 Kitchen scissors to chop the parsley
- 1 Glass to hold the parsley whist it is being chopped
Ingredients
- 4 free range eggs (large)
- 1 cup parmesan cheese loosely packed, grated
- 1 cup bacon diced or roughly chopped, Note 1
- 1 ½ cups button mushrooms sliced in halves or thirds
- 500 grams/1 pound dried spaghetti Note 2
- ½ teaspoon salt add to pasta water to season
- cracked black pepper to garnish
- parsley stems removed, finely chopped
Instructions
- Whisk eggs: crack all 4 eggs into a jug and whisk. Add the grated parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Then set aside.
- Cook the bacon: add the bacon to the fry pan, turn to high heat and fry stirring as you go for 2 to 3 minutes. Note 2
- Add the mushrooms: add the mushrooms to the bacon and fry for 2 - 3 mins. Note 3
- Cook the spaghetti: read the instructions on the pasta packet and follow those to cook the pasta. Drain using a colander with a heatproof jug underneath to reserve the cooking water.
- Combine and make the sauce: turn the heat off and add the cooked spaghetti to the pan with the bacon and mushrooms. Pour the cheese mixture over the pasta followed by ½ cup of the reserved pasta water. Stir to combine then add another ½ cup of this pasta water. Stir using a wooden spoon till the carbonara sauce is consistently mixed throughout the dish.
- Garnish: add some more grated cheese over the top of the spaghetti. Liberally add some cracked black pepper. Sprinkle the chopped parsley of the top of the dish to finish.
- Serve and enjoy: portion into bowls and serve with forks.
Notes
- Note 1 - Bacon: store bought diced bacon is the most convenient option. Or you can purchase rashers and use a knife and chopping board to prepare yourself.
- Note 2 - Spaghetti: we need 1 cup of the pasta water to add to the sauce. So once the pasta is cooked, use a colander over a heatproof jug to collect this water for later use. All supermarkets (Walmart, Aldi, Tesco, Safeway, Coles and Woolies) will sell a wide variety of spaghetti or other dried pastas. Feel free to use your favorite. Options include linguini, fettuccini, egg pasta, angel hair pasta, rigatoni or penne pasta.
Nutrition
Calories: 818kcal | Carbohydrates: 96g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 1093mg | Potassium: 536mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 224IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 327mg | Iron: 2mg