The CookingBites Cookalong: Pasta Carbonara

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morning glory said:
The one thing that does work as cheese is vegan parmesan (which I make). In fact I have used it on top of pasta and people haven't guessed. So that is what I'll be using in the vegan (and possibly vegetarian) version. Sun-fried tomatoes chopped small, in place of pancetta, perhaps? I also have a 'vegan cheese sauce' recipe which I've spent a long time working on (will post it up soon). So I reckon I can make something pretty luxurious looking & tasting which is also vegan.



To take a purist standpoint then yes. But same would go for all manner of vegan versions of dishes. The phenomenal rise of veganism has meant that its now pretty easy to find a vegan version of all manner of classic dishes. Just google the dish and put the word vegan in front. If you google 'vegan pasta carbonara' there are thousands of recipes - so I think we can accept that for the purposes of this Cookalong it can be called 'vegan carbonara'.

There is another factor here in terms of getting 'hits' from google (for this forum & for cooking blogs). People do tend to look up vegan versions of classic dishes, so calling a dish by its classic name preceded by vegan will attract more traffic.
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mmm, sorry, but no. Carbonara is only one.
I understand the vegan point of view, but don't call it Carbonara, which is specific. It can be called by other names with a possible mention also because Vegan Carbonara is a contradiction in terms. In my opinion, not all dishes can (and must) adapt to veganism, with all my respect.


If, on the other hand, it's a matter of attracting Google etc, that's another thing.
 
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MypinchofItaly said:
mmm, sorry, but no. Carbonara is the only one.
I understand the vegan point of view, but don't call it Carbonara, which is specific. It can be called by other names with a possible mention also because Vegan Carbonara is a contradiction in terms. In my opinion, not all dishes can (and must) adapt to veganism, with all my respect.
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Well - see above: #15
 
I found this vegan version which is most interesting: La Carbonara Vegan dello chef Martino Beria - Vegano ...veganogourmand.it › ricetta › carbonara-vegana-beria

I had to use Google translate but I think I get the gist: Google Translate

36471
 
morning glory said:
The one thing that does work as cheese is vegan parmesan (which I make). In fact I have used it on top of pasta and people haven't guessed. So that is what I'll be using in the vegan (and possibly vegetarian) version.
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I have a number of vegan cheeses that all work for specific dishes and are exceptionally nice and very tasty. Most, except for my current project, a feta cheese replacement, are written up here. But none will work in this instance, nor do I have an experience with the dish before I became vegetarian, so I have no idea on what flavour I am trying to recreate. The meat alone is something I am unfamiliar with.

All I can do is work from the traditional list of ingredients
Carbonara is made from pecorino romano, eggs, black pepper and guanciale
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and by the time I have replaced the cheese and the meat, both of which are specific to the dish and integral to the flavour, I personally, irrespective of any chef's views on the matter, feel that the dish will not even vaguely resemble to original.

So I am left with a pasta dish with an egg & black pepper sauce and 2 flavours I only know as being salty. That does not inspire me and I honestly don't feel like anything made as an alternative should in this instance, be named as a "vegan pasta Carbonara", or given that egg is being used still, be called a vegetarian but dairy-free pasta carbonara. Too many alterations to a dish leave a dish as something else.

1. pecorino romano - replace in vegetarian & vegan versions because cheese is not vegetarian
2. eggs - fine in vegetarian version, replace in vegan version
3. black pepper - fine in both vegetarian & vegan versions
4. guanciale - replace in both vegetarian & vegan versions.

I just can't see how I personally can validate making and calling anything a vegan pasta Carbonara, When almost all of the ingredients will have tobe replaced with something else.
 
Maybe in the name of forum togetherness, I'll make "pasta alla compromise" - I'm sticking with pork, but I'll use an egg substitute for the sauce! :)
 
I'm getting excited about 'Carbonara di Pesce' or 'Carbonara di Mare' after discovering the recipe above. There seem to be lots of Italian recipes for this with many variations - its something I'd never considered until now. And I love seafood.
 
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morning glory said:
I'm getting excited about 'Carbonara di Pesce' after discovering the recipe above. There seem to be lots of Italian recipes with many variations - its something I'd never considered until now.
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Well, to me, that's the fun part about going with a simpler dish (meaning one with fewer ingredients and a straightforward preparation) - it's so open to customization.

Reading more and more articles online about carbonara, I'm finding recipes with veggies added (the most common ones being peas or asparagus or artichokes) and a couple with...wait for it...a runny egg on top, which seems like it'd be ideal to mix in with the already-eggy sauce.
 
Oh...and I just found recipes for carbonara pizza and carbonara frittata. I may have more than one entry in this challenge.
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
I just can't see how I personally can validate making and calling anything a vegan pasta Carbonara, When almost all of the ingredients will have tobe replaced with something else.
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Well apparently lots of vegans & vegetarians would disagree (as would the BBC) judging by the amazing amount of meatless carbonara recipes to be found! To me carbonara is all about the creamy luxurious sauce and the other ingredients are to counterpoint that. I don't think its worth getting too hung up about. I've made vegan paella, vegan kedgeree, vegan bourguignon and a host of other 'classic' dishes which normally contain meat or fish. If it tastes good and bears some relationship to the original dish that's fine by me. Cooking is forever evolving and there is no doubt that veganism has brought about some quite exciting changes of late.

In any case, the Cookalong isn't a competition with rigid rules. In the past we have had all manner of variations on the chosen dish. No-one gets disqualified here for variations, however wacky - its all fun!

And I now have 4 different recipes for Carbonara which I'm working on. Its exciting - more so than I thought it would be.
 
morning glory said:
In any case, the Cookalong isn't a competition with rigid rules. In the past we have had all manner of variations on the chosen dish. No-one gets disqualified here for variations, however wacky - its all fun!

And I now have 4 different recipes for Carbonara which I'm working on. Its exciting - more so than I thought it would be.
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I saw a lot of liberties taken in the Gumbo Cookalong, and that's okay. Sometimes some people can't get the "traditional" ingredients, and sometimes people can't eat them. As I posted earlier, I'll probably do one very traditional carbonara, and then maybe play around with some additional ingredients for a second carbonara-based dish.

There may even be a third version -- something funny. There is a devil on my shoulder whispering "SPAM" into my ear. :unsure:

CD
 
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