Name: Authentic (Vegan) Carbonara
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: PT15-20M
Yield: 4 people
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 280 gr. spaghetti; 5-6 slices Hooray Food vegan Bacon; 5-6 big king oyster mushrooms (if you are not using or can't find the bacon, double the quantity of mushrooms); 1/2 block organic silken tofu; 1 tbsp lemon juice (or to taste); 1 dash smoked paprika (use a bit more if only using mushrooms); 1 pinch nutritional yeast; 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil; salt and black pepper (to taste); 1 tbsp white miso; 1 tbsp white wine; extra-virgin olive oil (to sauté mushrooms, to taste); 1-2 tbsp vegan parmesan cheese

Authentic (Vegan) Carbonara

This the real vegan carbonara made by a real Italian. I have always loved carbonara, and ate it a lot when I still ate meat. So when I ventured into looking for "the real deal" I knew what I was looking for, and I knew what the carbonara had to feel, smell, and taste like. I was lucky to have access to an amazing (and fairly healthy / minimally processed vegan bacon), but it's really all in the sauce. Let's start!

Course

Entrees

Cuisine

Italian

Servings	Prep Time
4people	15minutes

Cook Time

15-20minutes

Servings	Prep Time
4people	15minutes

Cook Time

15-20minutes

Ingredients

280 gr. Spaghetti
5-6slices Hooray Food vegan Bacon
5-6 big king oyster mushroomsif you are not using or can't find the bacon, double the quantity of mushrooms
1/2block organic silken tofu
1tbsp lemon juiceor to taste
1dash smoked paprikause a bit more if only using mushrooms
1pinch nutritional yeast
2tsp Extra-virgin olive oil
salt and black pepperto taste
1tbsp white miso
1tbsp white wine
Extra-virgin olive oilto sauté mushrooms, to taste
1-2tbsp vegan parmesan cheese

Instructions

Start by preparing the sauce: in a blender, blend tofu, oil, miso, nutritional yeast, lemon, salt, pepper and smoked paprika until smooth, silky and creamy. Taste it, and add more lemon juice to taste until the lemon does to the cream what salt does to cookie dough. 1 tbsp was perfect for my sauce, but trust your taste.
Dice mushrooms and bacon like pancetta, then sauté mushrooms for 5 minutes before adding the bacon, in a skillet, in olive oil (1 1/2 tbsp approximately). After 10 minutes (or when nicely caramelized) deglaze with white wine. Set aside.
Cook the spaghetti very al dente in salted, boiling water.
After 5 minutes of the pasta cooking, add the tofu cream to your bacon and mushrooms; stir, and add a generous ladle of pasta water. This water, rich in gluten, will transform the tofu into a beautiful cream.
Move the al dente pasta to the skillet with the cream, and add 1/2 cup of cooking water. Keep cooking the pasta in the skillet for a minute or two.
When the pasta is perfectly al dente, add 1-2 tbsp vegan parmesan cheese, stir and serve immediately with a lot of back pepper on top.

Recipe Notes

I promise you this is the real deal, the best carbonara you will ever have. And even if you are not vegan, have fun and explore the marvels of plant based options.

Only use king oyster mushrooms: they have a very low water content, their flavor is very mild, so your carbonara will taste like a carbonara and not like mushroom linguine, and also, their textures is reminiscent of bacon that will perfectly compliment the pasta giving you the benefits that only mushrooms have.

Buon appetito!