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Meatless Monday – Vegetarian Carbonara Recipe

This seems to be a week of firsts on the blog. Last night I shared my first StitchFix experience and today I’m sharing our first Meatless Monday recipe. A popular hashtag on both Twitter and Instagram each Monday, it inspires many people to eat less meat by experimenting with one day of meatless cooking or meals each week.  Over the years this movement has become quite popular as more and more research shows that reducing meat consumption can have many positive health benefits.

As I searched my blog, trying to see whether I’d previously shared a Meatless Monday recipe, I was surprised to not find a single Meatless Monday post. Maybe that’s because until recently, both Bo and I were of the mindset that a meal needed to have meat in order to be filling. Luckily, we’ve come a long way and now enjoy a meatless dinner every other week or so. Sometimes it is more simple, like spaghetti squash and marinara while other times it becomes a fun challenge which results in a delicious, often healthy recipe.

Tonight’s Meatless Monday recipe is the former. After a week of staring at the spaghetti squash just sitting on the counter, we knew we needed to put it to good use. An especially cold night inspired us to create a healthier version of one of our favorite comfort foods – carbonara. We ate our weight in carbonara when we were in Italy, our favorite of which was the fresh carbonara tossed table side in Rome during our meal at Felice A Testaccio. In fact, just thinking about it has my mouth watering. Can I please return to Italy immediately for wine, gelato and pasta? Until we can make our return, this recipe is going to be a regular in our rotation. It is healthy, at under 500 calories per serving, and it is full of rich flavor.

carbonara

We are very aware of the inherent contradiction in the term “vegetarian carbonara”.  After all, what is spaghetti carbonara without those deliciously salty hits of pancetta.  However, it is that luxurious egg yolk that coats the pasta that provides richness and makes the dish so luxurious.  For this vegetarian, carb-free version, we used spaghetti squash instead of pasta and a generous amount of sage for a rich, deep, flavor.
Worried this healthy, vegetarian dish won’t be enough to satisfy your appetite?  We paired it with a simple arugula salad to make a complete dinner for two.
Vegetarian Spaghetti Squash Carbonara with Sage pic JPG
Vegetarian Spaghetti Squash Carbonara with Sage
Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh sage
2 garlic cloves – grated on a microplaner
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (If you are a strict vegetarian, make sure you buy a vegetarian approved Parmesan such as Trader Joes!)
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
Extra virgin olive oil
2 egg yolks
1/2 Tbsp. heavy cream
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375, and roast the squash for about an hour; cut in half, scoop out the seeds and use a fork to scrap the meat into a bowl – set aside
2) Beat the egg yolks and cream and add a pinch of salt; set aside
3) Heat butter and 1 Tbsp. of EVOO in a skillet over medium heat; add garlic and soften for 3 minutes
4) Add squash, sage, and Parmesan and toss to mix
5) Season with salt and a generous amount of pepper
6) Take the skillet off the burner and allow squash to cool for a minute
7) Fold in the egg / cream and mix lightly for about 30 seconds; adjust seasoning and serve immediately.
If you’re curious in the nutritional information, see below for the breakdown.
Vegetarian Spaghetti Squash Carbonara with Sage
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2 Comments

  1. Lynn February 3, 2016 / 2:36 am

    I just made this using rosemary instead of sage (since that’s what I had on hand) and it turned out so good. Thanks for the recipe!

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