DIY Veggie Carbonara With Thyme Crumbs

DIY Veggie Carbonara With Thyme Crumbs

Preparation Time -10 minutes

Cooking Time – 15 minutes

Feeds 4-6

Ingredients –

500g Tagliatelle – Cook as per instructions – Use as large a pan as possible with a sprinkle of sea salt, cook until al dente

Generous glug of rapeseed oil

2 Cloves of garlic – Crushed and roughly chopped

1 white onion – Peeled and finely diced

Handful of oyster mushrooms – Roughly torn and fried until crisp

2 handfuls of chestnut mushrooms – Roughly cut into quarters

Generous sprinkle of sea salt & black pepper

3 Organic medium eggs – Soft boiled – Cook in boiling water for 3.5 minutes then peel

2 handfuls of lambs lettuce or rocket

60g/ 1big hunk of Parmesan (Or vegetarian alternative) – Finely grated

2 large hunks of bread/3 Slices – Blitzed or roughly chopped into breadcrumbs

3 Stems of thymes – leaves removed

Glug of oil

Sprinkle of salt

Instructions –

Start by boiling a large pan of water, add a small sprinkle of salt then once boiling add in your dried tagliatelle. Stir for the first minute or so, so it doesn’t stick together then allow to cook for around 7-10 minutes until al dente. Drain once cooked.

While the pasta cooks combine the garlic and onion and allow to sweat in a pan until transparent on a medium heat for around  2-3 minutes. Remove from the pan and turn the heat up to high and fry the mushrooms until golden and crisp (you may need to add another dash of rapeseed oil).

While the mushrooms cook you can boil the eggs, cooking them for 3 and a half minutes for a medium sized egg and 4 minutes for a large egg. Rinse briefly in cold water so you’re able to peel them so they’re ready to cut in half and add to the dish.

Grate your Parmesan and have your lettuce to hand along with extra seasoning should you need it.

For the thyme breadcrumbs add a big glug of oil to a pan, add in the breadcrumbs and thyme and cook for a minute or so over a medium to high heat, shake the pan allowing the other side of the breadcrumbs to turn golden also. Put to one side ready to add to the pasta once cooked.

Once all components are ready to go you can start to combine. I like to serve this in one large dish for everyone to help themselves.

In a large pan and over a medium heat add the pasta, followed by the onion, garlic and crispy mushrooms. Stir thoroughly to ensure everything’s hot, sprinkle in 3 quarters of the breadcrumbs, plus the lettuce them transfer to your serving dish. Cut the soft boiled eggs in half and place on top, sprinkle over the remaining breadcrumbs, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of black pepper plus your grated cheese and you’re good to go.

This dish is mainly about timings but don’t be put off by this, you can prepare most parts then reheat when you’re ready to serve.