Holy Shi-itake, this is surprisingly tasty! After cooking up these mushrooms and magically turning them into ‘bacon’, my Oh-So-Steady-Freddy husband who really sounds exactly the same whether he’s mad, happy, tired or has just been hit by a car, sounded well..actually REALLY excited. “Holy crap, these are SOOO flavourful!” he gushed followed soon after by his usual “How much are Shiitakes”? Apparently if it tastes this good, it must have cost a fortune. Anyway I really don’t recall how much they cost which I’m sure is a good thing. They definitely cost nowhere near the $13.89 (!!) I paid the other day for the world’s smallest (not even organic!) cauliflower (I returned it). Forget the cauliflower, for now, and eat Shiitakes! Worth every penny..
To make the Shiitake bacon, preheat your oven to 375 F (190 C). Gently wash your mushrooms and twist to remove and discard the inedible stems. Slice the mushrooms into thin pieces and place them on a baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil over top, sprinkle with the salt and pepper and toss to ensure that all of the mushrooms are evenly covered. Bake them for about 25 minutes turning frequently with a spatula, until lightly browned and crisp. Remove them from the oven and drain on a paper towel.
They should look something like this. Go ahead and try one..Amazing right?!
To make the Pasta Carbonara: Prep all of your ingredients before starting so that your pasta is still hot when you add your sauce.
Cook your pasta of choice according to the package directions. (Drain it when done and set it aside.)
While it’s cooking, heat your oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add your chopped onion and let it cook until soft. Add your garlic and cook for another minute.
Add your tofu, onion/garlic mix, lemon juice, water and salt to a Vitamix 
Add your completed sauce to your pasta and toss it with tongs to coat. Adjust salt to taste.
Serve onto individual plates and top with Shiitake Bacon, chopped flat leaf parsley, pepper and plant based parmesan (I used this
Needless to say, there were no leftovers tonight 🙁
Adapted from Coscarelli, Chloe. “You Won’t be Single for Long Pasta Carbonara with Shiitake Bacon”. Chloe’s Vegan Italian Kitchen
Watch Chloe make this on Today here .
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- Shiitake Bacon:
- 1 lb shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps thinly sliced
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- Pasta Carbonara:
- 1 lb long pasta of choice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 18 oz silken tofu
- ½ cup water
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tsp salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- chopped flat leaf Italian parsley for garnish
- Plant based parmesan of choice
- To make the Shiitake bacon, preheat your oven to 375 F (190 C).
- Gently wash your mushrooms and twist to remove and discard the inedible stems. Slice the mushrooms into thin pieces and place them on a baking sheet.
- Drizzle the olive oil over top, sprinkle with the salt and pepper and toss to ensure that all of the mushrooms are evenly covered.
- Bake them for about 25 minutes turning frequently with a spatula, until lightly browned and crisp.
- Remove them from the oven and drain on a paper towel.
- To make the Pasta Carbonara:
- Prep all of your ingredients before starting so that your pasta is still hot when you add your sauce.
- Cook your pasta of choice according to the package directions. (Drain it when done and set it aside.)
- While it's cooking, heat your oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.
- Add your chopped onion and let it cook until soft.
- Add your garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add your tofu, onion/garlic mix, lemon juice, water and salt to a high speed blender.
- Blend it on high for about 2 minutes until very smooth.
- Add your completed sauce to your pasta and toss it with tongs to coat. Adjust salt to taste.
- Serve onto individual plates and top with Shiitake Bacon, chopped flat leaf parsley, pepper and plant based parmesan.
I always add a few spritzes of Colgin’s smoke flavoring to the shiitake mushroom mixture before baking. This adds more of a smoked “bacon” taste. Use either hickory, mesquite, or apple flavor; all 3 are vegan (… but double check the label, just in case).
Looks delicious!!