Vegetarische Linguine Carbonara (vegetarian linguine carbonara)
A vegetarian carbonara with smoked tofu standing in for the pancetta, seared hard in a dry pan until genuinely crisp at the edges, since soft, merely warmed tofu adds no textural contrast to the creamy sauce the way a proper crisp piece does. Off the heat and working fast when the egg mixture meets the hot pasta is what turns it into a silky sauce instead of scrambled egg.
Prep15 min
Cook20 min
Servings4
Christoph's vegetarian carbonara, the smoked tofu seared hard for a crisp texture that stands in for pancetta.
Ingredients
Written for a 4 L pot
Units
Temperature
Servings
Carbonara
- 350 g linguine rounded
- 200 g smoked tofu, diced small rounded
- 15 ml olive oil rounded
- 4 egg yolks rounded
- 1 egg rounded
- 80 g vegetarian hard cheese, finely grated rounded
- to taste freshly ground black pepper rounded
- to taste fine salt rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Cook the linguine in a large pot of salted water according to the package, until al dente. Reserve 150 ml of the starchy cooking water, then drain.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a dry pan over medium-high heat. Sear the smoked tofu, stirring occasionally, for 6 to 8 minutes, until genuinely crisp at the edges.
- Whisk the egg yolks, whole egg and grated cheese together in a bowl. Season with a generous amount of black pepper.
- Remove the pan with the tofu from the heat. Add the drained hot pasta and toss to coat in the residual heat and oil.
- Off the heat, pour in the egg mixture, tossing constantly and quickly, adding a splash of the reserved pasta water to loosen, until the sauce turns silky and coats the pasta, with no curdled bits.
- Season with salt to taste. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Sear the tofu hard and dry, not gently warmed. Soft, merely heated tofu adds no textural contrast; a genuinely crisp edge is what stands in for the bite of pancetta in a classic carbonara.
- Work off the direct heat once the egg mixture goes in. The residual heat from the pasta and pan is enough to gently cook the eggs into a silky sauce; direct heat scrambles them into curds instead.
- Toss constantly and quickly. Carbonara comes together in under a minute; hesitating lets the eggs sit too long against the hot pasta and start to curdle.
- Best eaten immediately; the sauce doesn’t reheat well since the eggs continue to firm up.
Ingredient substitutions
- Smoked tofu can be swapped for seared mushrooms for a different, earthier flavour.
- A vegetarian hard cheese gives the classic salty depth; adjust the quantity to taste.
- A pinch of smoked paprika in the tofu while searing adds extra depth.
From Christoph Mayer