This recipe for carbonara pasta with morels is completely vegetarian, but carnivores will not mind, because the morels lend their powerful flavor to the homemade carbonara sauce.

This very simple recipe only takes about thirty minutes to prepare and explodes with flavors: the texture and umami aspect of the morels combines wonderfully with the deliciousness of the egg yolks and parmesan.

In this recipe, some of the pasta cooking water is used in the sauce to give it a completely decadent creamy texture and allow it to adhere well to the pasta. So be sure to dose the salt in the water correctly so that your spaghetti is well seasoned, but also that your sauce is not too salty!

When in season, we take advantage of fresh morels to cook this pasta dish, but it is also possible to make it from dehydrated morels. Obviously, you can also replace the morels with another wild mushroom (chanterelles, porcini mushrooms, etc.), but the taste will then be slightly different and less reminiscent of meat.

Ingredients

For 2 servings

• 50 to 100 g fresh morels OR 7.5 g dehydrated morels
• 200 g good quality dry spaghetti (or 240 g fresh spaghetti)
• 4 egg yolks (keep the whites to froth your cocktails or make meringues!)
• 100 g grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil or butter
• Fine sea salt
• 2 to 3 dune pepper catkins, grated with a microplane or ground in a mortar
• Several twists of black pepper
• Optional: for die-hard carnivores, it is possible to add a little diced pancetta

Preparation with fresh morels

1. Inspect the morels carefully and compost any morel that is too soft or slimy, or in which an insect has taken up residence. Slice and compost the oxidized (brown) part of the stem. Cut the mushrooms in half or quarters depending on their size and soak them for about two minutes in a large bowl of salted water (cold or room temperature) to remove any impurities. Repeat in a new bowl of clean salt water if the morels are still dirty. When removing them from the water, dry them well with a clean kitchen towel or absorbent paper.
2. Fill a large saucepan with salted water (1 1/2 teaspoons of fine sea salt per quart of water). Cook the spaghetti in salted water until al dente.
3. While the water is boiling and the spaghetti is cooking, whisk the egg yolks with the grated cheese and the dune pepper or black pepper until the mixture becomes slightly foamy (this requires good arm strength, or an electric whisk!).
4. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat and add a little grapeseed oil when hot. If using pancetta, add it to the pan at this step. Sauté the morels with a little salt until they release their water, then reduce the heat to medium. Continue cooking until the water in the morels has evaporated and the morels have softened. Do not hesitate to add a little water to the pan during cooking if the morels have released all their water but have not finished cooking.
5. Add the pasta to the pan using tongs. Important: you should not drain the water from the pasta. A little pasta water will end up in the pan: this is normal and desirable, because the water contains the starch which will allow the sauce to take on a creamy texture that sticks to the pasta.
6. Let the pan cool one to two minutes to prevent the eggs from cooking on contact, then add the mixture of egg yolks and cheese and mix well. Add salt to taste, only if necessary. Add more pasta water if the sauce is not thin enough. Serve with a little more grated parmesan and dune pepper or black pepper, to taste.

Preparation with dehydrated morels

1. Shake the morels well to ensure that no residue of soil or sand remains inside or in their cells.
2. Fill a large saucepan with salted water (1 1/2 teaspoons of fine sea salt per quart of water). Add the morels to the water about 5 minutes before the spaghetti. They will have to stay there for about 15 minutes in total. Cook the spaghetti in salted water until al dente .
3. While the water is boiling and the spaghetti is cooking, whisk the egg yolks with the grated cheese and the dune pepper or black pepper until the mixture becomes slightly foamy (this requires good arm strength or an electric whisk!).
4. At the same time, heat a frying pan over medium-high heat and add a little grapeseed oil when hot.
5. If using pancetta, add it to the pan at this step. Fish the morels from the pasta water after they have been there for about 15 minutes. They are now rehydrated. Dry them well, then add them to the hot oil in the pan. Sauté the morels until they release their water, then reduce the heat to medium. Continue cooking until the water in the morels has evaporated and the morels have softened. Do not hesitate to add a little water to the pan during cooking if the morels have released all their water but have not finished cooking. Remove from heat at the end of cooking.
6. Add the pasta to the pan using tongs. Important: you should not drain the water from the pasta. A little pasta water will end up in the pan: this is normal and desirable, because the water contains the starch which will allow the sauce to take on a creamy texture that sticks to the pasta. Additionally, the water took on the taste of morels during rehydration.
7. Let the pan cool for one to two minutes to prevent the eggs from cooking on contact with it, then add the egg yolk and cheese mixture and mix well. Add salt to taste, only if necessary. Add more pasta water if the sauce is not thin enough. Serve with a little more grated cheese and dune pepper or black pepper, to taste.