This vegetarian dish is inspired by the renowned Carbonara. I would not call it “Vegetarian Carbonara” though, as there is no such thing in Italy. If you are interested in the original Roman dish, many Cannolo Award winners have recipes for it, including Memorie di Angelina’s Spaghetti alla carbonara.
Aside from how it should be called, the dish that I’m presenting is absolutely delicious and fun to eat. Just like for Carbonara, the main execution difficulty is to find the right moisture balance: allow the eggs to firm up “just enough” and not more!
Egg and Smoked Scamorza Pasta
Ingredients
- 140 g spaghetti or other long dried pasta
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 100 g (3 ½ oz) smoked scamorza (or smoked provolone), thinly diced
- 3 Tbsp Parmigiano, grated
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- Black pepper, freshly ground
- Salt
Preparation
- Prepare the ingredients (1), then start boiling the pasta in salted water for the time indicated on the box.
- Lightly beat the eggs with the Parmigiano (2).
- Roast the garlic in the butter at low heat for 5 minutes (3), then discard the garlic.
- When the pasta is "al dente," drain it quickly then toss it back in the pot along with the garlic-flavored butter. Turn on the heat at low. Stir gently.
- Add the beaten eggs and cheese, then continue to stir, scraping the bottom of the pan, until the eggs start to firm up (4). It's important to keep the eggs partly runny, as they will continue to cook in the bowls after being served.
- Serve immediately covered with the smoked scamorza and some black pepper. The heat of the pasta will soften the cheese and melt it slightly.
© Paolo Rigiroli
This sounds and looks very nice! I really like smoked scamorza so your title hooked me immediately. And you are right: the main difficulty is to get the consistency of the eggs just right.
non traditional but must taste great!!
like the change up. good spin on a classic.
This is definitely a pasta I will be making SOON! I love the combination of egg and pasta and now you've added the smoked provolone! WOW! Congrats on the Top 9!
Mmm…this sounds so good! I was looking for smoked scamorza a couple of weeks ago for a pasta dish I made with baby eggplant. Couldn't find it anywhere. Had to substitute smoked mozzarella instead.
Delicious pasta dish with the egg and smoked cheese. Thx for sharing and congrats on the Top 9. 🙂
Thanks all! And thanks for buzzing this dish to Foodbuzz Top 9!
Congratulations on the top 9! Looks amazing! Well deserved.
Thanks a lot Kate!