Spooky Spaghetti Carbonara

Name: Spooky Spaghetti Carbonara with Fungi (Mushrooms)
Ingredients: 1 pound dry black spaghetti; 1/4- teaspoon salt; 100 grams about 1 cup exotic looking mushrooms, such as the Beech mushrooms pictured below.; 1/2 pound thickly sliced (good quality bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces); 3 large eggs; 2 cloves garlic (minced); 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (plus more for serving); Salt and pepper to taste

A recipe for black spaghetti carbonara with mushrooms that is spooky looking, yet elegant enough for a Halloween themed adult dinner party.

spooky black pasta carbonara with mushrooms and cheese

Spooky Spaghetti Carbonara with Fungi (Mushrooms)

Servings: servings

Author: Jackie Alpers

To help us carbo-load for the long trek through the neighborhood, my mother would prepare her standard pre-trick-or-treat meal of Kraft's boxed spaghetti dinner. We loved it. This recipe is almost as easy to throw together before going out. It's also quite a bit spookier looking, yet elegant enough to serve at a Halloween themed adult dinner party.

Try challenging kids who think "weird "mushrooms and black pasta are too creepy to eat to a fun Halloween dinner game where they have to try it anyway.

I'm betting that this spooky Carbonara, or "Bacon and Egg & Cheese Pasta" as I like to refer to it, is sure to be a hit.

For the black pasta I used Black Bean Spaghetti, which I found at my local market. It is considerably less expensive than the traditional black squid ink pasta, plus it's gluten free, with only 17 carbs per serving, making it a nice counter-balance to all of the sugar you'll probably be eating later on.

Ingredients

1 pound dry black spaghetti
1/4- teaspoon salt
100 grams about 1 cup exotic looking mushrooms, such as the Beech mushrooms pictured below.
1/2 pound thickly sliced good quality bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 large eggs
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus more for serving
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Fill a large pot or Dutch oven 3/4 full with water, (about 4 quarts). Add the salt and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook stirring frequently until al dente, about 6 minutes for black bean spaghetti, and 9-11 minutes for squid ink spaghetti.
Meanwhile cook the bacon, mushrooms and garlic in a large saucepan over medium heat, until the bacon is cooked throughout but not too crispy, and the mushrooms are tender and slightly browned, about 5-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the bacon. Be careful when stirring so that you donâ€™t break the mushrooms. If necessary drain some of the bacon fat from the pan, leaving enough of it to coat the pasta, about 3 tablespoons.
Drain, but do not rinse the pasta reserving 1/4 cup of pasta water. Break the eggs into a large bowl and whisk them with a fork. Throw in the pasta and reserved water and mix to coat. The hot pasta will cook the eggs. Then toss in the bacon, garlic and reserved fat. Stir in Parmesan cheese and add salt and pepper to taste. Gently swirl 2 or 3 small portions of the pasta with tongs or a fork per person, and artfully arrange them on each plate to serve, along with additional Parmesan cheese.