Today we’ll play the Pantry Puzzle Game https://carltoncooks.com/pantry-puzzle-game-makes-delicious-dishes-at-home/ to make a delicious a pasta dish plus https://carltoncooks.com/use-leftover-egg-whites-to-make-crunchy-carlton-kisses/ a sweet and crunchy dessert! Carlton’s Carbonara is easy to make and uses ingredients found at home.
To make:
Carlton’s Carbonara
Ingredients:
2 eggs (we’ll use the yolks for dinner and save the whites for dessert)
2 mushrooms, sliced
Some dry spaghetti (12 ounces of you have it, Macaroni or any other pasta will work, too).
One-half a bag of frozen peas (frozen corn would work, too)
One small piece of Parmesan cheese or any hard cheese that you have. You can also use the little packets of cheese that come with delivery pizza. Try to shred 1/4-1/3 cup of cheese.
Because this recipe is our own invention, you can also add whatever you have in your own house. I like to add a few slices of crumbled bacon, a handful of browned pine nuts, some sautéed onion and garlic, and maybe some chopped green chile or jalapenos. Sometimes I like to fry an egg and place it on top of the pasta, or serve it with sliced grilled chicken.
And, I’ll tell you a secret. Egg yolks mixed with some saved pasta water will always make a creamy pasta sauce, no matter what other ingredients you add.
Directions:
Shred your cheese and set aside.
Separate your eggs. Place the whites in the refrigerator to use later for dessert.
Put a large sauce pot of water on to boil. If you have salt, add a teaspoon to the water.
Add the pasta to the water and cook as directed on the package.
REMEMBER TO SAVE ONE CUP OF THE PASTA COOKING WATER! Drain the pasta and return it to the stockpot
Next, heat a small frying pan over medium heat. Add a bit of butter or oil to the pan and sauté the mushrooms until they brown at their edges. Add the peas to the pan and set aside.
Beat the egg yolks.
SLOWLY scramble in 1 large ladle full (about 1/3-1/2 cup) of the pasta cooking water into the eggs. The pasta water stops your eggs from scrambling when added to the pasta, and helps to make a creamy pasta sauce.
Add your shredded cheese to the egg and pasta water mixture.
Pour the egg mixture over the pasta. Continue to toss the pasta until it soaks up egg mixture and thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. The mixture will be creamy.
Remove pan from heat and add the mushrooms and peas to the pasta. Sprinkle with black pepper if you’d like.
Tl’s ingredients will make four small servings.
You can use your egg whites to scramble with leftover vegetables for breakfast, or you can go here https://carltoncooks.com/use-leftover-egg-whites-to-make-crunchy-carlton-kisses/to make a batch of Carlton Kisses for tomorrow’s dessert.
Happy cooking. And remember to send me ingredients to use for our next Pantry Puzzle Game https://carltoncooks.com/pantry-puzzle-game-makes-delicious-dishes-at-home/
Love,
Carlton