Tell any Italian you made smoked trout carbonara and you are bound to stir up controversy.
The abomination! The obscenity! It seems to me that the rule is this: eggs (yokes), cheese (Pecorino Romano/ Parmesan), pork (pancetta), pepper, salt, and pasta? Carbonara. Everything else you might call Carbonara that isn’t this? Bullshit.
So in an attempt to show some respect, I present to you a work of art akin to and inspired by (but not!) the Italian classic that is Carbonara: Fresh pasta cooked in a carbonara-esque manner using smoked trout and shallots instead of pork.
Ingredients:
- Olive oil (or butter), salt & pepper
- Sautéed shallots
- Smoked trout
- Pasta
- Egg yokes
- Pecorino Romano and/or Parmesan
- Parsley
- Red pepper flakes
General Method:
Sautè shallots in olive oil or butter until they start to caramelize. Add smoked trout and combine, breaking up the fish into smaller pieces as you do. Add pasta + a bit of pasta water. Add egg yokes. Add grated cheese. Add black pepper and parsley to garnish. (I had nasturtiums so garnished with those as well, and also added a sprinkle of red pepper flakes)
Is this a real recipe? No. But I am usually cooking for 1 (without hard and fast recipes) so I’m not going to bother scaling this recipe to a particular amount. The internet is filled with instructions for making carbonara so if you need more guidance, use those but swap out the pork for smoked fish and shallots.
The Artist's Appetite 