Perfectly pairs with 2020 MacRostie Day Ranch Pinot Noir.

SERVES 4-6

Nothing better than a classic carbonara with the addition of slow-cooked mushrooms and crunchy bacon.

Ingredients

• 1 package spaghetti (angel hair or linguine work best)
• 1 package thick-cut bacon (optional)
• 6 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 lb. cremini or button mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 medium shallots
• ½ bunch of parsley
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Fill a large pot with water and season well with a few big pinches of salt. Bring to a boil.
3. While the water is boiling, chop mushrooms into bite-size pieces. Transfer to a medium bowl. Chop garlic. Peel and finely chop garlic and shallots. Coarsely chop 1 cup of parsley leaves.
4. In another medium bowl, whisk 5 large egg yolks, 1 large whole egg, 1 cup grated Parmesan, and freshly ground black pepper to taste; set aside.
5. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high until very hot, approximately 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and olive oil to coat mushrooms in oil. Cook, tossing once every 4–5 minutes, no more than that until mushrooms are mostly golden brown, 13–16 minutes. They’ll release moisture before browning, so be patient!
6. While mushrooms are cooking, place bacon on a foil-lined baking sheet and transfer it to the oven. Cook for 10-20 minutes, or until crispy. Remove from oven and set aside on a paper towel-lined plate.
7. Once mushrooms have been cooking for about 10 minutes, add your pasta to the boiling water and cook 2 minutes shy of al dente according to package instructions.
8. Once mushrooms have been browned, reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic, shallots, and salt to taste. Cook, stirring often until garlic and shallots are softened but not browned, 30–60 seconds.
9. When pasta is 2 minutes shy of al dente, scoop out and set aside 2 cups, then drain the remaining water.
10. Add pasta along with 1 cup of the reserved pasta water to the mushroom mixture. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often to finish cooking the pasta and absorb liquid, about 2 minutes.
11. Remove from heat and let cool for 1 minute. Don’t rush this step! Adding the eggs to the pasta and mushroom mixture too early will cook the eggs too quickly.
12. Add ½ cup pasta cooking water to the reserved egg mixture and whisk to combine.
13. Gradually add egg mixture to Dutch oven, stirring vigorously and adding more pasta cooking water as needed to loosen things up. You’re done when all the pasta is coated in a creamy sauce!
14. Chop bacon into small pieces. Reserve ¼ cup for topping, then add the rest to the dish along with parsley and stir again to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
15. Divide pasta among bowls. Top with Parmesan, bacon, and fresh black pepper.