Quick meals are also another of my focus, to enable myself to eat more homemade meals.
Trying to keep up with the ‘More Veg’ mantra, I brought back a nice bunch of Mint leaves from the supermarket yesterday. Which was the main reason for wanting to try out this recipe.
Inspired by Honest Fare’s Fresh Mint & Peas Pasta Alla Carbonara.
I have came across this recipe last year and have been wanting to make this since.
What’s a better way to kick start Sunday then with a light healthy lunch.
Beautiful sunny weather today. Love it when the birds chirp, the weather is bright and warm out on the last day of the week!
“A garden is to be a world unto itself, it had better make room for the darker shades of feeling as well as the sunny ones.” – William Kent
I will be omitting the cured meat, and substituting the Pecorino Romano Cheese with an English Cheddar Vintage.
I have also decided to add in some chopped Sun Dried Tomatoes for a bit of bite and sweetness.
And replace the peas with Edamame Beans and French Beans – For the added crunch.
Other food making plans for the week:
Preparing the Chickpeas to make Hummus for tomorrow. And probably making the rest of the mint into a pesto.
Below is my adaptation of the recipe.
Ingredients (2 Pax)
1 1/2 cup frozen Edamame Beans
1 1/2 French Beans
1/4 cup diced shallot
1-2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Handful of fresh mint (I used only the leaves)
2 handfuls Whole Wheat Spaghetti
2 egg yolks
2-3 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. butter
Grated English Cheddar Vintage (Any hard cheese)
Salt to taste
Freshly ground Black Pepper
Directions
- Separate yolk(s) from egg whites.
- Grate cheese and set aside.
- Remove peas from Edamame Shells.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add Spaghetti. Because I am using Whole Wheat Pasta, it takes longer to cook). Cook until al dente.
- Add olive oil and butter to pan, saute shallots, garlic and Edamame peas for a minute.
- Add in Sundried Tomatoes. Saute, add some water to the pan and cover. This is to soften the tomatoes a little.
- When pasta is done, transfer the pasta directly into that same pan.
- Add in the grated cheese. Mix the pasta well, adding salt and pepper to taste.
- Turn off heat, take pan off the stove. Add in your egg yolk one at a time to pasta, while stirring vigorously. Make sure the yolk is well incorporated into the dish. It will turn into a slight creamy the coat over the cooked ingredients.
- Sprinkle more cheese if preferred.
VERDICT:
I really like the refreshing taste of mint combined with the various textures especially the crunchiness of the French beans! Replacing normal pasta to wholemeal also upped the health factor while adding on to more varied bites in a mouthful.
I was surprised with the slight creaminess coated on each strand of my spaghetti without the addition of Cream (Usually used in Carbonara). The dish just tasted light and OH SO GOOD.
I really think this effort towards eating more greens and cutting down on process and red meats might be a good thing after all. Going vegetarian does not mean eating mock meats and fried bee hoon no more!
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