An almost impossible mission!
Spaghetti alla carbonara is an original recipe from Rome, but also very common all around Italy with some variations from place to place and, even from family to family. Myself I ‘ve experienced different kind of carbonara cooked by my mom, my grandma, my father or my aunties as a kid. Carbonara has a distinctive smoky flavor (carbonara named after carbone, charcoal), cheesy, greasy and spicy. This recipe is for me the first attempt and yet a challenge to replace meat, eggs, and cheese. The liquid smoke is the perfect ally here that can make the difference.
Vegan Carbonara
Ingredients
- · 250gr pasta (I used spaghetti n°104)
- · 1 cup seitan (sliced)
- · 1 onion (diced)
- · 1 tsp liquid smoke
- · olive oil
- · 3 tbs syrup (maple, yacon, agave)
- · 200gr firm tofu – for the egg-like cream
- · 1 cup soy milk (or any vegetable milk)
- · 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- · 1 tbs cornstarch
- · 1 tsp nutmeg
- · saffron
Directions
- Brown the onion on a pan at medium heat with olive oil. Add the seitan, liquid smoke and syrup and sauté for about 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper.
- Blend all the other ingredients (tofu, soy milk, nutritional yeast, cornstarch, nutmeg, and saffron) until you reach a smooth consistency.
- Cook the spaghetti “al dente” (or according to the packaging instructions), over medium-high heat for about 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly the cooked pasta with the vegan pancetta and add the cream. Sprinkle with a lot of pepper and nutritional yeast.
Tips: fresh parsley to top before serving!