Carbonara with Mushrooms and Basil

I had the most delicious lunch ever today. I used some leftover egg yolks from my macarons, and made this lovely carbonara. We had this absolutely gorgeous pasta…I mean look at it?! Isn't it marvelous…

This good quality pasta made this dish, so if you can get your hands on some, I recommend it.  I also went to the farmers market today and got some fresh cherry tomatoes and basil, which made two great additions.

Carbonara with Mushrooms and Basil:

Serves 4/5*

* The dish ended up serving 5 because that was the amount of pasta I cooked. If you cook  just enough pasta for 4, no need to alter the recipe. 

{ About 8 oz of good quality spaghetti, linguini, or other wide noodle / 

1/4 cup+1 Tablespoon heavy cream / 1/4 cup white wine / 1/2 cup parmesan + more for garnish /

2 cups button mushrooms, caps and stems, chopped* / 2 egg yolks / 5 strips of bacon / 

1 shallot, chopped / 2 small cloves of garlic, minced / basil for garnish / olive oil }

*Many people don't realize the stems of mushrooms are just as edible and delicious as the caps! Just wash everything well. 

Boil and salt water for pasta. Drizzle some olive oil in a pan and cook the chopped shallot on high heat until it begins to soften. Chop the bacon into small pieces and add them to the pan. When the bacon is about halfway cooked, stir in the garlic. While the bacon is cooking, whisk together the egg yolks, heavy cream, and parmesan in a small bowl, and set aside for later. When the bacon is done, add white wine to the pan, stir, letting the sauce bubble for 2 minutes or so. Turn the heat off.

Take a few spoons of the oil/bacon fat/white wine mixture and put it in a new skillet. Heat it on high heat, and add the mushrooms, cooking only until the mushrooms soften, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer all of the mushrooms back to the bacon pan. Cover the pan with a lid. 

By now the pasta water should be boiling. Cook the pasta al dente, drain the water, and transfer to a very large bowl. Add the egg/heavy cream/ parmesan mixture, and stir well to coat the pasta. Add the bacon and mushrooms, and stir. 

Serve with parmesan and torn basil leaves.