Chanterelle Carbonara
by Luke Smithson
Pasta Carbonara is a sautéed dish originating in Rome, Italy. It is rich and creamy, consisting of long, thin noodles, some sort of cured pork product (bacon, guanciale, or pancetta), cheese and eggs. The cooked pasta is sautéed with the meat, then removed from the heat while eggs are whipped into the hot pasta. The dish is finished with grated hard Italian cheese, such as pecorino or parmesan. The heat from the pasta and meat cooks the eggs into a creamy sauce.
Our version of carbonara uses our homemade linguine (“little tongues” in Italian), frozen Pennsylvania chanterelles and cultivated King Oysters from Phillips Mushroom Farms. Chanterelles and eggs are considered a “classic” combination of ingredients, so carbonara is a natural choice when using chanterelles. When using other mushrooms, such as cultivated button mushrooms or oyster mushrooms, garlic can be added. No garlic is used in this recipe because it competes with the flavor of the chanterelles.
Yield: 6 generous servings
2 Tbs. Olive Oil
3 oz. Pancetta, cut into thin strips
13 oz. Chanterelles, fresh or frozen, cut into bite size pieces
14.5 oz. Fresh Linguine Noodles (1 basic pasta dough recipe)
1 Tbs. Shallots minced
1/2 cup reserved pasta water (this is the water you cooked your noodles in)
3 Eggs, beaten. (Use the highest quality eggs you can obtain!)
2/3 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup Chopped Parsley
Really good salt
Really good, freshly ground black pepper
-Bring 1 gallon of salted water to a rapid boil.
-Heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Add pancetta and cook until crispy.
-Remove pancetta and half of the rendered fat. Add chanterelles and cook until caramelized. When chanterelles are nearly cooked, return cooked pancetta and minced shallots to pan and allow chanterelles to finish cooking. Keep hot!
-While chanterelles are cooking, add fresh linguine noodles to boiling water. Stir well.
-When noodles are almost fully cooked (about 30 seconds from being al dente), drain pasta (don’t forget to reserve ½ cup hot pasta water). Pasta will take approximately 4 minutes to cook.
-Return pasta pot to stove over high heat. Working quickly, add remaining pancetta fat to pot, then add hot pasta, cooked pancetta/chanterelle mixture and reserved ½ cup of pasta water. Stir well while cooking for 60 seconds then turn off heat. Add beaten eggs and stir for additional 30 seconds then add parmesan cheese and parsley. Take care to stir gently so as not to break up your pasta!
-Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately
by Luke Smithson
Pasta Carbonara is a sautéed dish originating in Rome, Italy. It is rich and creamy, consisting of long, thin noodles, some sort of cured pork product (bacon, guanciale, or pancetta), cheese and eggs. The cooked pasta is sautéed with the meat, then removed from the heat while eggs are whipped into the hot pasta. The dish is finished with grated hard Italian cheese, such as pecorino or parmesan. The heat from the pasta and meat cooks the eggs into a creamy sauce.
Our version of carbonara uses our homemade linguine (“little tongues” in Italian), frozen Pennsylvania chanterelles and cultivated King Oysters from Phillips Mushroom Farms. Chanterelles and eggs are considered a “classic” combination of ingredients, so carbonara is a natural choice when using chanterelles. When using other mushrooms, such as cultivated button mushrooms or oyster mushrooms, garlic can be added. No garlic is used in this recipe because it competes with the flavor of the chanterelles.
Yield: 6 generous servings
2 Tbs. Olive Oil
3 oz. Pancetta, cut into thin strips
13 oz. Chanterelles, fresh or frozen, cut into bite size pieces
14.5 oz. Fresh Linguine Noodles (1 basic pasta dough recipe)
1 Tbs. Shallots minced
1/2 cup reserved pasta water (this is the water you cooked your noodles in)
3 Eggs, beaten. (Use the highest quality eggs you can obtain!)
2/3 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup Chopped Parsley
Really good salt
Really good, freshly ground black pepper
-Bring 1 gallon of salted water to a rapid boil.
-Heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Add pancetta and cook until crispy.
-Remove pancetta and half of the rendered fat. Add chanterelles and cook until caramelized. When chanterelles are nearly cooked, return cooked pancetta and minced shallots to pan and allow chanterelles to finish cooking. Keep hot!
-While chanterelles are cooking, add fresh linguine noodles to boiling water. Stir well.
-When noodles are almost fully cooked (about 30 seconds from being al dente), drain pasta (don’t forget to reserve ½ cup hot pasta water). Pasta will take approximately 4 minutes to cook.
-Return pasta pot to stove over high heat. Working quickly, add remaining pancetta fat to pot, then add hot pasta, cooked pancetta/chanterelle mixture and reserved ½ cup of pasta water. Stir well while cooking for 60 seconds then turn off heat. Add beaten eggs and stir for additional 30 seconds then add parmesan cheese and parsley. Take care to stir gently so as not to break up your pasta!
-Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately
