Sweet Potato Carbonara
A quick and delicious supper recipe that uses sweet potatoes instead of pancetta to make a vegetarian version of traditional carbonara. Using just a handful of ingredients, this one's super easy to rustle up.
Substitutes:
No sweet potatoes? Use butternut squash or blanched asparagus, cut into small pieces.
No spaghetti? Swap for linguine, penne or any pasta you have.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
Servings: 2
Ingredients:
450 g Sweet potatoes (peeled and diced)
g Spaghetti (200)
2 Egg yolks
2 Garlic cloves (chopped )
400 ml Vegetable stock
80 g Parmesan (finely grated)
Parsley (¼ bunch)
Olive oil
Salt
Black pepper
Recipe:
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the sweet potatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook for 6-8 mins, tossing occasionally. Then, add in the garlic and cook for 2 more mins.
- Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and leave to simmer for about 10 mins, until the stock has reduced by half. The sweet potatoes should be tender.
- Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks with half the parmesan. Season with pepper, mix well with a fork and set aside.
- Cook the spaghetti in a large pan of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain the pasta, but make sure you keep about 2 cups of the cooking water. Put the drained pasta back in the pan and add a little bit of the cooking and toss well to stop it from sticking.
- Blend half the cooked sweet potatoes with a bit of the pasta cooking water until smooth and creamy.
- Add the sweet potato cream to the pan with the spaghetti and toss well over the heat for 1 minute. Season with pepper, then pour in the egg mixture and a little cooking waster. Toss well to gently cook the yolks until it's all nice and glossy. Serve with the rest of the grated parmesan, chopped parsley and black pepper.
Leftovers
Use the egg whites to make meringues, chocolate mousse, omelette, or (our favourite) frosted berries. To make frosted berries all you need is egg white, caster sugar and small berries. Brush the berries with egg white, then dip them in caster sugar, and place them on a rack to dry, until crystalised. They make the perfect cake decoration, and are super fun to make with kids.
