Cheats Carbonara Cheese Free Food

CREAMY CARBONARA (NO EGG)

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to boil, add a generous amount of salt to the pot and the pasta. Cook according to packet instructions. Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water, then drain the pasta and set aside.
• Meanwhile, heat oil and butter in a frying pan on medium heat. Add onion, bacon and mushrooms to the pan and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until the bacon is crisp and mushrooms are tender.
• Reduce heat to low, then add cream, 1/4 cup of reserved pasta water and the cooked penne pasta and cook, stirring regularly, until the liquid has reduced into a thick creamy sauce. Remove the frying pan from heat and add a good handful of shredded parmesan cheese, tossing through the pasta.
• Serve immediately with extra parmesan cheese on top and garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

THE BEST CARBONARA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
• Whisk together the eggs, yolks, Parmesan, Pecorino, pepper and butter if using in a large bowl until well combined.
• Add the pasta and cook as the label directs. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain the pasta.
• Meanwhile, cook the pancetta in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Add the spaghetti and half the reserved pasta cooking water to the skillet and toss to combine.
• Add the egg mixture and toss to coat. Cook, tossing continuously to avoid scrambling the eggs, until the sauce is creamy, thinning it with the remaining pasta water if it becomes too thick (it should be saucy but not watery), about 1 minute.
• Divide the pasta among plates and sprinkle with more grated Parmesan.

CHEATER CARBONARA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook linguine at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes, adding peas in the last minute of cooking. Drain and keep warm in a bowl.
• Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towels, reserving 1 tablespoon of drippings in the skillet.
• Add garlic to the skillet; saute for 1 minute. Reduce heat to low and stir in milk and cream cheese until blended.
• Crumble bacon and add to the linguine along with sauce and Parmesan cheese; stir to coat.

CHEATS CARBONARA (CHEESE FREE)

Steps:

• Slice the bacon into thin strips and place in a saucepan with a little oil over a low heat. Cook gently for about 5 mins until the bacon looks cooked but there is still juices in the pan.
• Take the bacon out of the saucepan, leaving the juices behind, and transfer into a small bowl.
• Add a small amount of butter (about a teaspoon) to the bacon juice that us left in the pan and allow to melt over a low heat. Next add the mushrooms.
• Cook for about 5 mins then turn the heat up and return the bacon slices to the pan. Cook, stirring continuously until the bacon starts to go crispy and the mushrooms start to go golden brown.
• Add the cream to the pan along with some black pepper and reduce the heat. leave the cream, mushrooms, bacon and black pepper to simmer gently. This will allow the sauce to thicken.
• Whilst the sauce is thickening, add the pasta to a pan of boiling water and cook as per the packet (normally 4 mins).
• Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and add it to the sauce, stir and serve. If you are having trouble getting the sauce to thicken add one tablespoon of the pasta water just before you drain it. The starch in the water will help make the sauce thicken but be careful, less is more and the sauce will thicken very quickly!
• If you decide to use cheese I would suggest adding it as a garnish at the end, that is what my friends normally do when I make this for them!

VEGAN CARBONARA

Steps:

• Boil the spaghetti for 10 mins or following pack instructions until al dente, reserving a little of the water. Put the cashews, bouillon and mustard in a bowl, then pour over 350ml boiling water.
• Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan. Add the mushrooms and grated garlic, and stir-fry over a high heat until the mushrooms are cooked and starting to crisp up. Take off the heat, stir in the paprika, then tip onto a plate and set aside.
• Add the grated courgette to the pan and cook, stirring every now and then until softened. Meanwhile, whizz the soaked cashews, whole garlic clove and nutritional yeast flakes, if using, with a hand blender until completely smooth. Tip the mixture into the pan with the courgettes and briefly stir over the heat.
• Add the spaghetti and toss in the cashew and courgette mixture until well coated, then toss through the smoky mushrooms. If following the Healthy Diet Plan, serve half with half the spinach on the side, and chill the rest for another day. Will keep for three days. Reheat in a covered pan with a dash of water, and cook the remaining spinach to serve on the side.

TWO-STEP CARBONARA

Steps:

• Boil the pasta. Meanwhile, fry pancetta in oil in a frying pan for a few mins until golden and crisp. Add garlic, fry for 1 min, then turn off the heat. Briefly whisk egg and yolks with most of the Parmesan and some seasoning.
• Drain pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water. Add eggs and a tbsp of cooking water, then mix until pasta is coated and creamy. The heat from the pasta will gently cook the sauce. Stir in the pancetta and garlic then serve, topped with the remaining Parmesan.