Receta Tempeh Carbonara

by Suzi

Tempeh Carbonara, hmmm. I have always wanted to make Spaghetti Carbonara, the photos look so delicious and creamy. I was under the mistaken assumption that cream was used in Spaghetti Carbonara and that was why it looked creamy. After having read Frank Fariello’s recipe which I really enjoyed, I see that cream is traditionally not included in Spaghetti Carbonara, I was happy about that, too much fat and cholesterol for me. Then I found that my other problem in preparing this dish is that it calls for bacon in some form and also eggs. I don’t eat bacon and I don’t want to eat eggs for the obvious cholesterol reasons (I guess you can tell I have an elevated cholesterol issue) so those were problems as well. One would start to ask why then am I even attempting to make a dish that has none of the ingredients required to make this dish. I love to cook, and there are challenges that can be overcome so I set out to do just that. There are no real rules in cooking, so transforming a truly wonderful Italian pasta dish, with all it’s rich ingredients into a leaner fare for those of us with health concerns seemed at first to be a daunting task. Using the tempeh and egg replacement worked for this recipe. Tempeh smoky bacon flavor can be bought pre-made in your local grocery produce section. Tempeh is made from fermented soy beans and I prepared the tempeh as in the recipe calling for bacon – I had to use olive oil of course to saute the tempeh.