CanadaDinner
Spring Vegetarian Carbonara
Active Time: 5 minutes • Total Time: 10 minutes
Yields: 4 Servings
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 1/2 cup smoked mozzarella
- 1/2 cup Parmesean cheese, grated
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 cup Earthbound Farm Organic Frozen Peas
- 8 cup Earthbound Farm Organic Baby Spinach
- 3 tablespoons butter
- Kosher salt
- fresh ground black pepper
This recipe comes from A Couple Cooks, a husband and wife duo based out of Indianapolis whose cooking celebrates real, good food. For Earth Month, we partnered with them to make a spring-friendly recipe in honor of Mother Nature herself. Find the recipe below and head over to their blog for 7 Earth-friendly kitchen tips you can incorporate into your daily life to help our planet.
In a large pot, combine 6 quarts of water with 2 tablespoons kosher salt and bring it to a boil.
Grate the Parmesan and mozzarella cheese. Carefully separate four egg yolks and set aside.
Once boiling, add the pasta and cook until the pasta is just about al dente, about 7 minutes; then add peas and spinach and cook for 1 minute. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, and then drain the pasta and vegetables.
In a skillet, melt the butter, then stir in the cheeses, ¼ cup pasta water, and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. Stir in the pasta and vegetables until creamy over low heat, adding more pasta water if necessary (note that the mozzarella will stick together in some places).
To serve, top each pasta serving with a whole egg yolk and additional Parmesan cheese, and stir the yolk into the pasta at the table. (If you are uncomfortable serving egg yolks at the table, stir the egg yolks into the pasta in the skillet to heat them through.) Serve immediately.
The mozzarella cheese can become gummy the longer the pasta sits, so eat immediately if possible. Leftovers can be reheated in a skillet, but may not have the same creamy texture.
We typically use whole wheat pasta, but found its taste a bit too strong for this recipe. This is one case where we recommend staying away from whole wheat for best results.
Consuming undercooked eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness. If you are uncomfortable serving egg yolks at the table, you can stir the egg yolks into the pasta in the skillet to heat them through. The smoked mozzarella in this recipe is reminiscent of the bacon traditionally used in carbonara; if you can’t find it, use traditional mozzarella or substitute Parmesan (using 1 cup Parmesan total).
