Carbo-NOT-a

The old-school Romans made the simple pasta dish, carbonara, with three main ingredients: freshly milled black pepper, un-smoked baby pig’s cheek and raw egg. We love black pepper, but thought we’d do without the baby pig. We also forewent the standard cheese and raw egg for this recipe, so we’re using the term “carbonara” loosely. Think of this more as an easy-fix, Italian-scented pile-up of good-for-you comfort food.

Carbonara de Polenta

(Serves two)
2 carrots
2 zucchinis
1 Tbs. sea salt
1/2 tube of polenta
2 Tbs. canola oil
4 strips fake bacon
Sauce
4 strips roasted red pepper
1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise
4 cloves garlic
1 Tbs. fresh black pepper
1 Tbs. sea salt
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbs water
1. Prepare sauce by combining all sauce ingredients and pulsing in a food processor or whisking well. Set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Peel the carrots and zucchinis into long noodley strands using a vegetable peeler. Once water is boiling, dunk the strands for 30 seconds, so still crunchy but noticeably blanched. Place in ice bath or under cold water. Set aside.
3. Cut polenta into 1/2-inch round slabs and toss in a non-stick skillet, on high heat with canola oil. Saute for 5 minutes or until slightly mushy. Season to taste, remove and set aside. Then crisp the fake bacon in same pan.
4. In a deep plate, position the veggie noodles and top with a layer of polenta, then bacon, polenta and more bacon. Top with pink sauce.
Beverage: Port Brewing’s Sharkbite Red
Soundtrack: Billy Joel’s The Stranger