Rebuilt vegan · Spaghetti Carbonara (römische Küche, Latium)
Vegan Carbonara-style spaghetti with crispy tofu batons and pepper fat
Spaghetti al dente in a glossy, cream-free sauce made of white cashew butter, nutritional yeast flakes, light miso, and starch-rich cooking water. Accompanied by golden-brown, unsmoked tofu batons fried in olive oil and neutral coconut fat, and mildly roasted black pepper. All decisions are our own culinary derivation without research citations.
- ⏱ 25 min total
- 🔪 20 min active
- 📊 mittel
- 🍽 2 people
Ingredients
Scaled from the base amount for 2 people.
For the pasta
For the tofu batons (instead of guanciale)
For the carbonara cream
Contains: gluten, soja, nuesse. Please check the labels on the packaging yourself.
Method
Bring cooking water to a boil
Bring 1,5 l water to a boil in a wide pot with a lid. Only when it bubbles vigorously, add the 10 g salt. Keep at a gentle simmer until adding the pasta.
- ⏱ 10 min
- 🔥 hoche Hitze
- 🍳 wide pot with lid
Done when: The water is bubbling vigorously.
Press, cut, and dust tofu
Press the tofu firmly between clean kitchen towels for 1 to 2 minutes. Then cut into batons of about 1 cm x 5 mm x 3 cm, similar to guanciale strips. In a bowl, toss gently with the pinch of salt and the cornstarch until all sides are thinly coated.
- ⏱ 5 min
- 🔥 niedrige Hitze
- 🍳 Kitchen towels
- 🍳 Cutting board
- 🍳 Knife
- 🍳 Bowl
Done when: The surface appears dry and matte, no more water drips.
Mix the carbonara cream
In a heatproof bowl, stir cashew butter, nutritional yeast flakes, miso, kala namak, turmeric, and lemon juice with 30 ml cold water using a small whisk until smooth. Set the bowl aside.
- ⏱ 3 min
- 🔥 niedrige Hitze
- 🍳 heatproof bowl
- 🍳 small whisk
Done when: A homogeneous, pale yellow, thick paste without lumps or pieces of miso.
Fry tofu sticks until golden brown
Heat olive oil and coconut oil in a wide pan over medium to high heat. Add the tofu in a single layer and fry undisturbed for 3 to 4 minutes. Then turn regularly and brown for another 5 to 6 minutes. If it darkens too quickly, reduce the heat.
- ⏱ 10 min
- 🔥 mittele Hitze
- 🍳 wide pan
- 🍳 spatula
Done when: The sticks are dark golden all around and sound hollow-crisp when tapped. The sizzling becomes quieter and finer.
Cook spaghetti barely al dente
About one minute after starting to fry, add the spaghetti to the boiling water. Stir several times during the first minute. Cook about 1 minute shorter than indicated on the package, usually 8 to 9 minutes. Before draining, collect 150 ml of cloudy cooking water in a cup. Drain the pasta and do not rinse.
- ⏱ 9 min
- 🔥 hoche Hitze
- 🍳 tongs
- 🍳 colander
- 🍳 cup or measuring cup
Done when: When biting through, a fine, pale core is visible in the center. The cooking water is visibly cloudy.
Toast pepper in fat and glaze tofu
Add the pepper to the pan with the tofu and toss in the fat for 30 seconds. Optionally drizzle in the soy sauce and let it evaporate while tossing until it glazes the tofu. Remove half of the sticks and keep ready uncovered on a plate so they stay crispy. Remove the pan with the remaining tofu and fat from the heat.
- ⏱ 2 min
- 🔥 mittele Hitze
- 🍳 pan
- 🍳 plate
Done when: The pepper is distinctly fragrant. The soy sauce has evaporated with a sizzle after a few seconds, leaving a matte, dark sheen.
Temper cream with cooking water
Gradually incorporate 50 ml of the hot reserved cooking water into the carbonara cream while stirring constantly.
- ⏱ 1 min
- 🔥 niedrige Hitze
- 🍳 whisk
Done when: The cream is warm, silky, and flows from the whisk like liquid pudding.
Emulsify off the heat and serve immediately
Add the hot spaghetti to the pan removed from the heat and toss in the pepper fat for 20 seconds. Pour the tempered cream over it and toss and stir vigorously with the tongs for 30 to 60 seconds. If the sauce is pasty, add remaining cooking water in portions of about 15 ml. In the end, it should appear slightly more liquid than desired, as it thickens further on the plate. Divide between two preheated plates, place the reserved tofu sticks on top, and add a fine twist of pepper if desired.
- ⏱ 2 min
- 🔥 niedrige Hitze
- 🍳 pan
- 🍳 tongs
- 🍳 2 preheated plates
Done when: Every noodle is glossily coated, neither fat nor water separates at the bottom of the pan. The sauce slowly flows back together when a trace is drawn with the tongs.
From the kitchen
Tipps
Preheat plates
The sauce thickens quickly on cold plates. Rinse plates briefly with hot water or warm them in the oven at low temperature.
Keep cooking water handy
The reserved 150 ml stands next to the pan. The binding is decided in the last minute.
Check salt only at the end
Miso and soy sauce already add salt. Taste before serving and only add a pinch of salt if needed.
What can go wrong
And what helps then
The sauce becomes pasty and sticky.
Work off the heat and add hot cooking water in 15 ml portions until it shines again.
The sauce is watery and pools at the bottom of the pan.
Too much water added at once or too much cooking water used. Continue to toss vigorously. Next time, use less cooking water in the pot so that it becomes richer in starch.
The sauce tastes overpoweringly sulfurous.
Too much Kala Namak was used. A very small pinch is enough; when adjusting seasoning, prefer using normal salt.
The tofu does not get crispy.
It was too wet or the pan was overcrowded. Squeeze firmly, fry in a single layer, and do not move for the first minutes.
The sauce turns bitter and spicy.
The pepper was toasted in the fat for too long or at too high a heat. Only toss for about 30 seconds.
Variations
Variants
einfacher
Without coconut fat and soy sauce
Only use 30 ml mild olive oil and omit the soy sauce. Slightly less full in mouthfeel, otherwise the same procedure.
glutenfrei
Gluten-free version
Use gluten-free spaghetti (labeled vegan) and tamari labeled as gluten-free. For the miso, choose a variety without barley. Gluten-free pasta releases less starch, so keep more cooking water ready.
reichhaltiger
With richer cream
Increase cashew butter to 55 g. The sauce becomes heavier, similar to a carbonara with more egg yolk.
Afterwards
Storing and reheating
Storing
Best eaten fresh. Store covered leftovers in the refrigerator for at most 2 days. The crispy tofu sticks will soften in the process.
Reheating
Warm in a pan over low heat with 2 to 3 tablespoons of water while stirring, until the sauce is creamy again. Do not heat strongly, otherwise it will thicken into a paste.
veganizo.de/rezept/rec_ehscuk18 – developed and checked by veganizo.