Birthday card recipe no. 3: Comfy Carbonara

There is always something comforting about creamy carbonara; even just hearing the alliteration is soothing. So when I cooked this recipe from Hunny (who was one of the top chefs for our expedition),  I knew I was in safe hands ;)

Hunny’s version with mushrooms was a slight adaptation on the classic, but that’s fine because I like them. Like, a lot; there’s just something about that squishy spongy chewy meaty mush. Something distinctively….mushroomy. Trying to follow the recipe exactly I went to the supermarket in search for ‘Portobello mushrooms (5 big juicy ones!)’. Finding a carton of mushrooms with 5 in them was pretty easy (I do after all, have eyes), but I wasn’t sure how to go about finding ‘juicy’ ones. Were they meant to ooze mushroom juice out if I prodded them? From past experience I’m pretty sure that’s not what happens. Maybe I’ll just settle for five Portobello mushrooms.

The next thing on my shopping list was smoked bacon. I don’t really like bacon. But I still eat it, and I don’t know why. It’s like with aubergines, they are possibly the most hideous vegetable known to man and shouldn’t even be classified as one (in my opinion), but every time it’s a dish at dinner I’ll take a piece, eat it, think “eurgh, gross”, and then 10 minutes later I’ll take another piece. Thing is, their taste it just too easy to forget. Some call this phenomenon ‘bland’.

But, back to bacon. Apparently, “while heavy on salt and kind of high in calories, bacon has no trans fat at all. Several slices of bacon are healthier in terms of calories, salt, fat and cholesterol than a hot dog, hamburger or glazed donut.” Well hurrah! Now I can now eat bacon guilt free because it is healthier than a doughnut! (Just a side note that this fact came from an American website).

But hey, I’m not condemning bacon by any means. Everyone else I know likes it (I’m just odd), and so it will probably bring about world peace someday.

Lesson learned today: bacon is more healthy than a doughnut. I am still struggling to see how a couple of slices of bacon (which is purely cured salted meat) has less salt than a sugary doughnut, though.

Comfy Carbonara Sauce without pasta serves 2-4 Ingredients Single cream (50 ml) Garlic (1 clove) Chicken stock in cubes (1 pinch) Portobello mushrooms (5 big juicy ones!) Smoked bacon (3 slices) Black pepper (1/4 teaspoon) Basil (1 dash) Salt (Taste before adding, chicken stock could be saltier than you expect!) Any pasta of your choice cooked till al dente In boiling water, add a dash of salt and boil pasta till ala dente. In separate pan, pour in cream, chopped up garlic, chicken stock, sliced mushrooms (lightly fry them first to get rid of mushroom juice that could potentially dilte the thick creamy sauce), black pepper, basil. Then put on low heat till slightly boiled. Meanwhile, put bacon in oven till lightly brown and crispy. Cut the bacon into strips. Pour cream sauce over drained pasta and sprinkle bacon on top. Chomp chomp!