Lobster Carbonara

After the mushroom’ing adventure, I knew I wanted to make something that really highlighted the characteristics of lobster mushrooms.  How often would I have a pound on hand?

I did a bit of googling, and found out that they pair really well with eggs.  Because of this, a frittata is a really classic preparation for them.  I found a mushroom carbonara recipe from The Chubby Vegetarian and decide to ad lib off of that.

I should also note that we were staying at Heather & Tom’s house around this time, puppy sitting while they were at DisneyWorld.  This is Fifa, the adorable French Bulldog. Aside from her penchant for wanting to chase leaves at 1am, she was a spectacular roommate.

Fifa Monster

You’ll remember, this was the mushroom we’re working with:

lobster mushroom

We also want the following on hand:

  • 4 cloves of garlic (minced)
  • 1 shallot (cut up)
  • 2 strips of Bacon (finely chopped)
  • 1/2 cup wine (recipe called for white, but we were drinking pinot at the time)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup of milk
  • 1 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of butter
  • 8 ounces spaghetti
  • parmesan cheese (to taste)

I washed my beast of a mushroom, and chopped it up into bite sized pieces.

Meanwhile, I’ve got my oil and butter melted in a pan on the stove.  To it, I’ll add the bacon, garlic, and the shallots.  The original recipe called for vegetarian bacon, and if you’re using that you’ll want to add it AFTER the mushroom mix. Let this cook on medium heat until the bacon’s crispy and the shallots are translucent. (maybe 10 minutes?)

It’s also worth saying that this recipe originally called for different types of mushrooms. There’s a real good chance that you’re not going to have a 1lb lobster mushroom sitting in your local supermarket, so feel free to improvise.

Toss your mushrooms in the shallot/bacon pan and let them go for about 15 minutes, or as long as it takes for them to cook down to about half their original size.  If they’re not letting out enough juice, and they start sticking to the bottom of the pan, just add a little bit of the wine that you’re drinking.  Stir a little bit, but for the most part, just leave them alone.

This might be a good time to pour yourself a glass of wine.  Jon and I were drinking Torii Mor that night – a vineyard that we’ll definitely check out on this month’s trip to the Wilamettee Valley.  The earthiness of oregon pinots seemed like a natural pair with the mushroom carbonara.

Torii Mor Pinot Noir

Start a pot of water boiling.

Okay. So at this point, you’ve got crispy bacon, garlic, shallots, and mushrooms in the pan.  They’ve reduced and caramelized for about 20 minutes.  Add your 1/2 c of wine to the pan, deglaze, and reduce to about half.  Spepper and taste, taste, taste.

As you remove your mushroom mixture from the heat, start cooking your pasta.  While the pasta’s cooking, whisk together your eggs and milk.  The heat of the pasta is what’s going to actually cook the eggs, which is kind of neat.

When the pasta is ready, remove from the water with tongs and put it straight on top of your mushroom mixture. Toss mushroom mixture and the cooked pasta together, and then pour the eggs & milk directly on top of the pasta. Toss the pasta in the pan until you notice that the eggs have set. You will know it when you see it. If you want the sauce to be more “saucy”, use some of the pasta water to loosen it up a bit.

Garnish with cheese.

Mushroom Carbonara