Easy Eats: Set-and-forget Mushroom Carbonara
Here's an indulgent twist on a classic carbonara, with minimal effort and maximum flavour. Photo: Sam Parish
Desperate for rich, comforting pasta but want to keep the cooking process effortless? With a few minutes of prep, the slow cooker does all the heavy lifting in this recipe, infusing a creamy white wine sauce with the flavours of leeks, mushrooms, bacon and thyme and pepper. All that’s left is to cook the pasta and stir through the egg yolks for a silky finish.
Serves 4 / Prep time: 10 minutes / Cooking time: 6-8 hours
Ingredients
- 1 leek, halved and thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 200g mushrooms, quartered
- 150g streaky bacon, chopped
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp white wine
- 1 chicken stock cube or pot, crushed
- 300ml cream
- 500g casarecce pasta (or your favourite shape)
- 1-2 egg yolks (adjust for desired richness)
- Freshly chopped parsley, for serving
- Grated parmesan, for serving
Method
Prepare the slow cooker base: Add the leek, garlic, mushrooms, bacon, thyme, black pepper, and olive oil to the slow cooker. Stir to combine.
Add the liquids: Pour in the white wine, crushed chicken stock cube, and cream. Mix well. Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 6-8hours, allowing the flavours to meld.
Cook the pasta: When you're ready to serve, cook the pasta according to the packet instructions until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of pasta cooking water.
Finish the carbonara: Add the cooked pasta to the slow cooker, along with the egg yolks and reserved pasta water. Stir everything together until well combined and creamy.
Serve: Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and scatter generously with grated parmesan. Serve immediately.
Notes
Adjust the number of egg yolks to suit your preference for richness. One yolk will give a milder taste, while two will make it richer.
Casarecce is ideal for this dish as its twisted shape holds onto the sauce well, but other pasta shapes like rigatoni or strozzapreti would also work beautifully.
Photo: Sam Parish
Sam Parish is a Christchurch-based chef, writer and food stylist. She's all about cooking smarter, not harder. She’ll be sharing delicious, fast, family-friendly food ideas every Wednesday (after road-testing them on her own whānau, of course). Sam’s first book, Cook Me is out now.
