Cheesy Carbonara

It’s been some months since I’ve posted a recipe here. The time now is early February, and it’s raining, as it often does in Honolulu during the winter and early-spring months. The Koolaus are deep green from trade showers that blow over the mountains onto Makiki Heights and (pictured above) into Manoa Valley. The weather feels humid and slightly cool, as it did last March, when mainland friends visited us. Our friends don’t mind rain, so the weather didn’t worry me, but what to feed them did. Over the years "S" has become a lacto-ovo vegetarian, while "M" remains a peanut-butter-grape-jelly / meat-and-potatoes kind of guy.  They're willing to make do, but I wanted to fix something delicious for dinner that we’d all enjoy. I made burgers--beef for three of us, and Portobello mushroom for S--and we ate in restaurants and at a conference dinner. Toward the end of their visit, while leafing through a pasta cookbook from the Italian company Barilla, I hit upon Cheesy Carbonara--al dente spaghetti mixed with a couple fresh eggs, three kinds of cheese (I used Havarti, Butterkase, and a mild cheddar), salt, and pepper. Alongside the carbonara, I served eggplant in tomato sauce and mushrooms sautéed in olive oil and let everyone help themselves.

I hope the Barilla folks will forgive the liberties I took with their beautiful photos and recipes. Cheesy carbonara is an easy, delicious, and wonderfully adaptable meal. Almost any kind of cheese, vegetable, or--for those so inclined--meat or seafood would be good.

The following serves 2-4 people, depending on appetites:

For the eggplant in tomato sauce, you need: one 14-ounce can Italian-style tomatoes, 2 small or 1 medium-large eggplant, 1/3 cup chopped onion, 1 minced garlic clove, 2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil. For the tomato sauce, cook onion and garlic in 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil for a few minutes, and then add salt and pepper to taste along with the tomatoes. Cook 10 to 15 minutes, until tomatoes break down and form a sauce. Keep warm. Second, cut the eggplant into ½-inch pieces and, in a separate pan, sauté the pieces in 1 to 2 tablespoons olive until tender and lightly browned. Add the eggplant to the tomato sauce and continue to keep warm.

For the mushrooms, you need: 8 ounces fresh mushrooms of your choice (I use Portobello, crimini, button, or a combination), a few tablespoons of fresh chopped herbs (I use rosemary), and 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Slice the mushrooms ¼-inch wide, sauté in olive oil until tender, and keep warm.

For the carbonara, you need: 4 to 8 ounces dried spaghetti, ¾ to 1 cup grated or diced cheese or cheeses of your choice, and 2 to 3 fresh eggs. Cook the spaghetti until al dente and drain, reserving ½ cup of the cooking water. Return the spaghetti to the pan and immediately stir into it the fresh eggs, cheese, and enough of the cooking water to make a loose sauce. Return the pan to burner and cook another minute or so, stirring all the while to mix the spaghetti and sauce together. Serve in individual pasta bowls with the vegetables and / or meats of in separate platters on the side, or serve family style in a large bowl with the carbonara in the center and the vegetables ranged along the sides (as appears below).

Here are most of the ingredients:

The eggplant cooking, followed by the tomato sauce:

And to serve:

With a sprig of fresh basil or other green herb, that’s it!