I recently bought this super vegan version of bacon and the first thing that came to my mind was to make a vegan carbonara! After all, this dish is very difficult to make using only plants, because there is always something missing.
The original recipe does use eggs and bacon and this is the basis of the sauce. Here, however, we’re going to use kala namak black salt, vegan cream and that funny vegan bacon that is rich in protein and contains much less calories than real bacon.
Do you know where the name carbonara came from? Apparently, the origin of the name is not entirely clear, I like to believe that this is because carbonara should be served with a lot of black pepper and hence the name that refers to charcoal. But what do I know?
BLACK SALT – it’s called kala namak, and contrary to appearances, it is not black, but pink, do not get deceived! It has a very intense sulfur smell, and believe me, it is a wonderful substitute for egg taste! You can buy it at healthy food stores.
SPAGHETTI – pasta selection is also a matter of taste. I like spaghetti because it is perfect for dishes where the sauce is rather uniform and there aren’t too many large pieces in it. The sauce will stick to the pasta and the food will be very enjoyable.
VEGAN BACON – don’t you have such inventions in your fridge? You can use smoked tempeh or smoked tofu. They have a slightly different texture and taste, but it’s mainly about the smoky aroma, which gives everything a more interesting flavor.
INGREDIENTS (for 4 servings)
- 1 pack of vegan speck (optionally smoked tofu)
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 250ml of vegan cream
- a handful of green peas for color
- ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon of kala namak salt
- 1 teaspoon miso paste (optional)
- chopped parsley
- 400-500g of spaghetti
VEGAN SPAGHETTI CARBONARA – PREPARATION
- In a hot pan with olive oil, fry the onion and garlic, add vegan bacon (or smoked tofu) and fry for 5 minutes.
- Then add green peas. Pour in the cream, add black salt, pepper and miso and leave it on the heat for about 5 minutes.
- If the cream was too thick, you can treat your sauce with any unsweetened plant-based milk.
- In a separate pot, boil spaghetti al dente, drain it and mix it with the sauce.
- At the end, sprinkle with fresh parsley. READY TO EAT!
